The Institute Saga: Side Stories
by TheBeardedOne
Summary: One-shots and Vignettes set in the Institute Saga universe.
1. Preface

**Author's preface**

.

This is going to be a collection of short stories and character pieces that parallel and expand the world of the Institute Saga.

Each chapter will be a short standalone story and a note will be provided to show approximately where in relation to the main story the sidestory is.

It will also allow me to set up new potential plotlines that may come into play in the future, or simply to have a little bit of fun.

Enjoy.


	2. Advertising Space

**Advertising Space**

-{IS2, Just after the Battle of Genosha}-

.

Everyone filed into the training room (which had been programmed to look like a theatre) and settled down as Clark walked up to the podium set before the large screen. Looking out at the staff and students, he coughed self-consciously.

"Hello. As you all know, since the X-Men went public, there has been quite a demand for information, demand which has rocketed since the Battle of Genosha. As such, with Professor Xavier's help and the agreement of those involved, we have entered into an agreement with Mattel and the first set of X-Men action figures will be hitting the stores soon. We _are_ working on the Generation-X line, but it will have to wait until you younger ones have got some official publicity so that we can piggyback it onto the X-Men range.

"Part of the deal was that we came up with the advert ourselves. Using mission recordings and sessions in the Danger Room, Forge, Peter and myself have come up with what we believe to be a good advert. If you are ready to watch, we are ready to show it to you."

A round of cheering greeted his statement and Superman stepped to one side as the podium retracted into the ground. The lights darkened and the large screen lit up with the Xavier Icon in red and gold against a black background. An instant later, a red beam tore through it and the screen seemed to swing round to behind Cyclops, who was blasting what looked like alien robots in a half-ruined city. The camera swung round as he fired a salvo of shots, then it froze as he was in mid-blast and his codename flashed up on the screen, before continuing round to show Havoc standing by his side, unleashing blasts from his hands before using his powers through his boots to rise into the air, the image again stopping mid-blast to display his codename.

The image then switched to Jean, who was shown using her powers to levitate a car from a river, then the scene cut to showing her using a psionic shield to block bullets being fired by a group of generic gang members. As she rose into the air, the picture again froze and her codename of "Ms Marvel" appeared.

Storm was next, shown swooping through the air before summoning a barrage of lightning and swirling winds, then it was Piotr's turn as his metal form smashed through a wall, sent a dozen bad guys flying and then lifted a small girl up so that she could rescue her kitten from a tree.

Kurt appeared in a burst of smoke, somersaulting and teleporting through a battlefield, then Kitty ran past, running _through_ various obstacles before Spyke appeared on his hoverboard, pulling a bone-spike out of his arm and using it as a staff before all seven appeared on the screen in a defensive formation.

The image then flickered to the modified X-men/House of El symbol and then to Clark flying through the sky before Peter swung past on his webbing. As they landed, a wave of squirrels ran past and Squirrel Girl was with them as they came back into view, then Juggernaut appeared behind them, smashing through a barrier in the process.

The image then faded into one showing the action figures arranged against the backdrop of the two symbols and Xavier's voice sounded.

"The X-Men and their allies, fighting for a finer world."

As the lights rose, several of the younger members of the audience were whistling and cheering and Clark walked back onto the stage.

"I'm glad you all approve. Most of the profits from selling these figures will be donated to various charities. For those of you who have yet to have a figure, you will probably have one eventually. Trust me on that."

"What about Kara?" Ray shouted and Clark smiled.

"Kara already has her own action figure, it's part of the Avengers line." Clark said with a smile. "She's been teasing me about how _she_ has an action figure, yet I've been active longer than her."

.

"Hey, Kurt!"

Kurt looked round and smiled as he was enveloped in a hug.

"Amanda!"

"Hey, these hit the shops yesterday and I couldn't resist." Amanda smirked as her hand dived into her bag and pulled out a small action figure of Kurt. "I think I'll keep it by my bed so that you'll be the first thing I see in the mornings."

Kurt blushed, then he paled as Jean spoke from behind him. "I bet you're eagerly awaiting the day when you can have the real thing there instead."

Amanda nodded as Kurt groaned. "Vy do I get ze feelink I vill never hear ze end ov zis?"

"I still get teased about kitten in tree." Piotr said from one side. "You have it easy."

"I thought it was great." Peter said from his position on the ceiling. "I mean, I kept being mistaken for an actual X-man until the advert made it clear. Sure, I like you guys and Bobby's a real blast to be around, but I'm still semi-independent and now everyone knows it."

"Maybe you start up own team?" Piotr said. "Spider-man and his Amazing Friends"

Peter screwed his face up. "Oh, hell no! Do you have any idea how _cheesy_ that sounds? We'd probably end up being called the _Spider-friends_ or something just as camp."

"You could always team up with Bobby and recruit Johnny Storm." Amanda said teasingly. "Fire, Ice and… yeah, you don't really fit elementally, do you."

Peter shook his head as he dropped to the ground.

"Well, I have a patrol to make, so I'll see you round. Forge and I whipped up a new bike for me to use, so I don't need to cadge lifts any more."

"You have a _spider-cycle_?" Amanda asked and Peter groaned.

"What is it with you and all this spider-stuff?"

"Well, I saw a model of it in the toy shop and that was what it was called."

Peter froze at Amanda's comment, then his face set into a frown.

"Excuse me, please. I think a certain boy scout has some explaining to do…" He grumbled as he stalked off, ignoring the laughter behind him.

.

Tony Stark smirked as the _youngest Avenger_ ran round the play-room, the Superman action figure in his hand.

"Awww," Kara mock-whined from beside him. "I can't tease my cousin about not having an action figure any more."

Tony grinned, then his eyes widened as Harry released the action figure…

…and it continued to zoom round the room as the young wizard laughed in joy.

"Jarvis, tell me you're getting data on this!"

"Yes sir, I am." The electronic butler replied calmly.

"Analysis?"

"It is not true psionic-based telekinesis, sir, but there are several similarities. I am uploading a full waveform analysis to your tablet now."

Harry reached up and caught the flying figure, then turned to Kara and used his puppy-dog-eyes technique.

"Fly?"

Kara sighed before scooping him up. "Alright, a quick lap around thecity, then it'll be time for lunch. Jarvis, open the window please."

"Of course, Ma'am." Jarvis replied as the angled skylight opened silently. "Enjoy your flight."

Tony sighed as the duo vanished into the skies before turning and walking out of the room.

"Jarvis, I'm heading to the work-room. Let's see if these readings will _finally_ help me understand magic."

"Of course, sir."

.

Charles Xavier felt his eyebrows rise towards his sadly-non-existent hairline as he worked through the finances of the Institute.

"Something the matter?"

"Not at all, Martha." Chares replied, absently accepting one of the proffered cookies and biting into it. "It's just that our financial situation for this quarter is far more in the black than I thought it would be. Those action figures have really made a difference."

Before Martha could reply, the sound of an engine almost tearing itself apart echoed through the open window and Charles winced.

"I think we need to put Kitty back into the simulator. That's the third engine she's managed to shred."

"Good thing we've got more money, then." Martha smiled, earning a wry glance from Xavier.


	3. Allies

**Allies**

Set soon after IS2 - 23 Alliances

.

Detective Elisa Maza leaned against the doorframe, her gaze switching between the setting sun and the statues lining the balcony. As the sun began to slide below the skyline, a new presence made itself known.

"Detective."

"Professor." Elisa said, giving the wheelchair-bound new arrival a quick glance. "Here to talk with the big man?"

"Actually, I was hoping to speak to Lexington." Xavier explained. "He offered to help Forge with a project which I hope will prove useful."

Elisa raised an eyebrow at him and Xavier smiled.

"They are planning on working on a way to delay the effects of dawn. Not stop them, just delay them enough so that they can get to a safe place before entering stone sleep."

"That… sounds useful." Elisa admitted. "But why not remove the need for stone sleep?"

"Because it serves a purpose, allowing them to heal." Xavier said, looking out across the city. "We do not wish to risk the health of our new allies in regards to something that we only barely understand even now."

Elisa nodded, then her attention snapped to the largest statue as cracks began to form in its surface. The cracks quickly spread, spider-webbing across the surface, then the outer shell fell away and Goliath stretched as he awoke, his growl echoing across the city, along with the waking growls of the other Gargoyles. Turning, his face lit up as he spotted Elisa and he quickly walked over to her.

"My beloved."

"Hey, big guy." Elisa smiled up at him and Goliath smiled at her before noticing Xavier.

"Professor, I must thank you for this place."

"I'm glad you are settling in." Xavier smiled, then he looked at the smallest of the Gargoyles. "Goliath, may I borrow Lexington? I promise I'll have him back before sunrise."

Elisa snorted with laughter and Goliath nodded.

"Very well. I have a task of my own, I have been asked by Xanatos for a meeting at his tower."

"If you want, I can have Clark drop by as backup." Xavier offered and Goliath nodded slowly.

"It would be appreciated. If I had had more time to think, I would have asked for his aid yesterday. I am still not used to these… communicators."

"The strange psionic events I detected." Xavier realised. "I was about to send a team to find out what what going on when it stopped."

"I shall tell you the tale later, if you wish." Goliath said as he scooped Elisa into his arms and leapt onto the reinforced railing. "For now, I bid thee a good evening."

.

"Good evening, Goliath."

"Superman." Goliath rumbled at his fellow-flier. "Thank you for coming."

"I'm just here to act as a shield for your girlfriend if anything goes wrong." Clark shrugged as they rose towards the stone castle perched atop the skyscraper ahead of them. "I see the belt's working for you."

"That it is." Goliath grinned. "Here we are."

Goliath cupped his wings to pull into a hover, then he touched down lightly before lowering Elisa to the ground. A slight whisper of air marked Superman landing behind him and Xanatos raised one eyebrow.

"Bringing in the big guns already, Goliath? I assure you, you have no need to worry. After all, I owe you for saving my son."

"So why did you call this meeting?"

"Coldstone."

Goliath blinked in shock.

"I managed to find him and have him in stasis. It's a good thing you brought Superman with you as his help will be most appreciated. I intend to build new bodies for Desdemona and Iago."

"I'm already lost." Clark admitted quietly and Elisa leaned towards him.

"Coldstone is a magically-reanimated cyborg with three Gargoyle souls inside him, Othello, Desdemona and Iago. Othello and Desdemona were lifemates, Iago… isn't very nice."

"…and I have designed and built the prototype bodies, but since you are allied with Superman, I was wondering if I could impose upon him to upgrade them?"

"Wait a minute." Clark said slowly. "I need to talk to the Professor."

.

"Nice place you have here." Xanatos said admiringly as he stepped out of the elevator. "I thought my tech was advanced, but this?"

"Ve like it." Nightcrawler shrugged and Xanatos looked at him curiously.

"I have to ask, why where you chosen as my guide?"

"If zomezing goes vrong, I can teleport you to zafety." Kurt replied and Xanatos nodded.

"The more I see, the more impressed I become. I think I need to see about making a business alliance."

"I will consider it." Xavier said from the doorway. "Please, come in. We were just about to begin."

Xanatos stepped into the large room and looked curiously at the unmoving form of Coldstone and the three winged forms on specially-adapted tables arrayed around a high-tech chair. The chair and tables were all surrounded by a domelike cage and Xanatos examined it for a moment before turning his attention to the covered forms. Lifting up one sheet, he stared at it in amazement.

"This… did you manage to clone them or something?"

"No." Xavier replied as he wheeled himself into the center of the room. As Forge moved to help him into the chair, he continued speaking. "We used the robots you created as the basis for the design, but we applied Kryptonian technology as well. The minds of the robots are specially-grown crystal matrixes designed to mimic an organic mind in how they work while the bodies have Adamantium skeletons and pseudomusculature linear actuators. The skin itself is artificial, far tougher than tri-weave kevlar but containing sensors that act like the nerves in normal skin, giving far superior tactile capabilities. We essentially rebuilt the bodies using advanced Kryptonian prosthetics."

"Nice." Xanatos finally managed. "I know an elf who will be willing to help if needed."

"I can do this." Xavier said as Forge pulled the wheelchair out of the dome. Placing the headpiece on, he gave Forge a significant look, prompting Forge to scurry over to a control panel. "I took the liberty of scanning Coldstone before you came and I have identified all three minds. Please, do not enter the dome, no matter what."

Xanatos nodded and Xavier closed his eyes even as the dome seemed to project a shimmering blue field. Several moments passed, then the field rippled and three ethereal winged shapes slowly rose out of Coldstone's body. One of them spun round and hurled itself at Xanatos, only to recoil as it hit the inside of the dome, then Xavier's eyes snapped open and the shape was seized by a spectral fist and thrust into one of the waiting bodies. A moment later, the other two forms flowed into the remaining bodies and the dome faded.

"It… is done." Charles said weakly as the three newly-animated Gargoyles slowly sat up, their sheets slipping from them.

"I see you forgot their clothing." Xanatos snarked.

.

The three awakened beings looked round as a huge figure entered the room.

"You asked for me, little brother?"

"I did, Marko, and thank you for coming." Xavier said. "May I introduce Iago, Othello and Desdemona, cybernetically-enhanced Gargoyles . Iago wishes for a new life away from here and I wondered if there could be a place for him on Genosha?"

Iago gulped as he realised just how severely outmassed he was by the newest arrival, then Juggernaut nodded.

"As long as he agrees to abide by the rules, sure thing. From the looks of him, he'd do great in the Guardians."

"Excellent. Then I shall leave him in your hands. Oh, I believe that Martha heard you were coming and baked some of your favourite cookies."

Marko grinned. "Then I'd better not keep her waiting. Come on, Iago. Let's go."

Iago paused, then he met Othello's glare. "It's go with him or face us, _brother_, and we were granted better bodies than you were."

Iago nodded and scurried out of the door. As soon as the door closed behind him, Othello and Desdemona turned their attention back to Xavier.

"Now that he is gone, hopefully to start a new, law-abiding life, I will be happy to escort you to where Goliath and his clan are." Xavier smiled. "I think he will be overjoyed to see you."

.

Goliath's face was a study of shock and amazement as Othello and Desdemona stepped through the door. After a few moments, he lunged forwards and caught them both in a hug, before holding them at arms length and examining them.

"…how?"

"Xavier and Clark gave us these new bodies, brother." Othello smiled. "They are machines, but machines so advanced that they are as living flesh itself. We can even eat and drink should we choose to."

"We do not need to sleep during the day, so we can guard you when the sun is in the sky." Desdemona added. "And you need not worry about Iago, by now he is at Genosha, many hundreds of miles from here."

Goliath smiled at them, tears welling in his eyes. "It is good to have you back in the clan, my rookery-siblings."

"I think I speak for us both when I say that it is good to be back." Othello replied.

.

"I am surprised that you let Xavier take over your project, sir." Owen Burnett said as he placed a cup of tea in front of his boss. "I believe that you had plans for Iago using the Coldsteel robot."

"True, but the situation has proven even more fortuitous." Xanatos smirked. "Using the connection formed by Iago's… _employment_, I have arranged to expand Xanatos Enterprises into Genosha, thus giving me access to the advantages of mutants and their powers. In addition, I have taken the first steps to repaying Goliath the debt I owe him by returning two members of his Clan to him and then there is the Xavier Institute. Now that I _know_ at least some of what they are capable of, I can direct further resources into forming an alliance with them and gaining access to the K-tech that has yet to be released into the public domain.

"I ask you, Owen, what is one mechanical operative compared to all of that?"


	4. Flight

**Flight**

Set just after the final part of the Institute Saga II

.

The wind whistled through his wings and far below him, New York lay like someone had scattered a collection of gleaming gems across the ground. The decorated pillars of the skyscrapers rose, yet he was far above them all, suspended in the eternal beauty between the stars above and the stars below.

Here, in the dancing air, he could forget about the fact that he was a disappointment to his father.

He could forget about having to hide his mutation, binding his wings so tightly that the pain became almost constant, until the euphoria of release became all-consuming.

He glided through the skies.

No-one could understand the beauty of the skies, the majesty of the wind, the…

"Hello!"

Warren Worthington III jolted as a voice that _couldn't_ have been there spoke. Almost stalling, he managed to alter his flightpath so that he could turn and…

What…

Was…

That?

A greenish winged humanoid grinned at him.

"Hi! I'm Lexington!"

"…Angel…" Warren managed after a long moment.

"What are you?"

Warren and Lexington both blinked at their unintentional chorus, then Lexington started to laugh.

"Come on, let's land and talk. Hey, wanna drink? Johnny's always got a supply of soda on the roof for us."

Lacking anything better to do and consumed by curiosity, Warren followed as the odd being dived.

.

"This… is the Baxter Building." Warren said as he landed on the railing-free balcony.

"That's right." Lexington said as he opened a small fridge underneath an awning. "Pepsi, Coke, Sprite, water or juice?"

"I'll have a Sprite, thank you." Warren said, then he frowned as he caught the can that Lexington tossed to him. "Is this alright? I mean…"

"It's cool." Lexington smiled as he opened his own can. "Reed and I are friends, he's really clever, I'm learning a _lot_ from him and he finds us Gargoyles fascinating. He set this up so that we could hang out and Johnny insisted on having sodas up here for when he joins us. Sometimes he patrols with us."

"You said… Gargoyles." Warren said. "There are more of you?"

"Yep, the Prof located over three dozen enclaves for us." Lexington grinned. "Othello and Desdemona are out there making contact with them for us, they don't need to worry about daylight like we do. Ummm, you're not really following, are you."

Warren shook his head and Lexington chuckled self-consciously. "Hooo boy. Where to begin?"

"At the start?"

Lexington chuckled. "Yeah, okay, but I warn you, it started a thousand years ago…"

.

"…and now we're allied with the Avengers and the X-Men." Lexington finished. "We tend to patrol every night, we help to keep general crime down. Protect the innocent and all that. Superman pops by at least once a month to check that we're doing good and patrol with us. Hey, you wanna join the patrol tomorrow? Be good to have another flier around. Storm's nice, but she uses wind to keep her in the air and it really plays havoc with our gliding in close proximity, y'know? Plus she's an X-Man at heart, so she only pops by occasionally."

Warren lifted the bottle of Sprite to his lips and was surprised to discover that he had finished it during Lexington's recitation.

"Anyway…" Lexington began, then he looked at the horizon. "Damn. Hold on. Goliath?"

"_Yes, Lexington?_" A bass voice said from the device that Warren had mistaken for a watch on Lexington's wrist. "_It is almost dawn._"

"I know, I'm at the Baxter Building. I was going to use one of the rests that Richards provided since I don't think I'll make it back before sunrise."

"_Then I shall see you tomorrow night. Good day, Lexington._"

"Same to you, big-G." Lexington laughed, then he sprang up off the bench and scurried onto a short pedestal. "Will you be here at dusk?"

Warren nodded and Lexington tossed his empty can at him. "The bin's behind you, I'll see you…"

The sun rose above the horizon and Warren's eyes widened in shock as Lexington's skin turned grey.

"Lex? Lex!"

"It's alright." A voice said behind him and he spun round to see Susan Storm leaning against the doorframe. "He's just entered Stone Sleep."

Warren stared at her, then he looked back towards the statue that was his newest friend.

"I… should be going…"

"Hang on." Susan said as she walked across the balcony to rummage in a small cupboard, pulling a small disk out of a drawer. Warren took the opportunity to drop the can and the bottle into the bin. "Take this, it'll get you past the outer defences tomorrow, although it won't allow you into the building without an escort."

"Thank you." Warren said, pocketing the metallic disc. "If you'll forgive me, I need to be going…"

Susan nodded and Warren leapt off the edge of the balcony, his wings cupping the air and lifting him above the city.

.

"Ah," The dark-haired man said as he glanced up from the complicated machine he was working on. "You must be Lexington's friend. I'm Reed Richards."

Warren gingerly shook the proffered hand, watching in bemused and slightly queasy fascination as the handshake translated into a small sine wave that travelled up the elongated limb. Releasing the hand, he watched as the limb retracted.

"Lexington will be waking up in a couple of minutes." Reed continued, then he closed the panel and stood up. "There, let's see how his Stone Sleep works."

The machine started to hum, then the top illuminated, creating a wireframe image of Lexington which was quickly surrounded by labels connecting to various parts of the image.

"Hmmm, let's see… skeletal structure seems rather distinct, he isn't mammalian, avian or reptilian… I think a new classification is needed… hmmmm… _Gargate_, yes. The skin is stone-like, as are his insides, but he is absorbing quite a bit of the solar radiation… energy patterns indicate minor rejuvenation powered by that… fascinating! There is no sign of aging while in this state!"

Warren blinked at that. "They're immortal?"

"No," Reed said absently, "They just don't age while they are asleep… I guess that explains why they can live two or more centuries… looks like that isn't actually stone… oh, that's incredible! That stone is comprised of the particles they ingest but to not need!"

"Wait." Warren managed. "He turns into… _poo_?"

"What?" Reed asked in confusion. "No, no no! It's more like shed skin. In fact, that's what it is, to a degree. I don't understand how it covers his loincloth, though. I can't find anything that could explain it. Status change! His body is changing from near-stone to organic… it's almost like it's uncrystallising… it's reaching the skin…"

Warren spun round as a crack appeared on Lexington, quickly expanding outwards and spiderwebbing until it covered all of him, then it seemed to explode outwards.

"Wrrraaaarrrrgh! Whoah. Oh, hey, Angel!"

"Lexington." Warren said. "Are you… okay?"

"Huh? Sure, why? Ohhhhh, your first time seeing a Gargoyle wake up, huh? Yeah, it's how we always wake up. Heya, Reed. Hey, what data did you get?"

Warren stared in near-shock as Lexington bounced over to Reed and the two of them started to discuss things using words he didn't even know existed. After a moment, Reed stopped, regaining Warren's attention.

"Magic? No, it can't be magic."

"Sure is." Lexington shrugged. "We found out about it in the Grimoire, it's called the _Spell of Humility_ and it was cast by order of Caeser Augustus who didn't like it that Gargoyles had to take their clothes off to stop them being shredded when they woke up, or simply went around naked. It means that anything that we consider to be ours, as long as it isn't alive, is encased and protected in our stone shell."

"There must be a biological mechanism for that." Reed insisted. "Magic… doesn't make sense!"

"It put me to sleep for a thousand years." Lexington shrugged. "It exists, deal with it. Hey, Angel, ready for a patrol? I'll take you to meet Big-G!"

"Sure." Warren said as he spread his wings.

"Hey, Reed! Shoot the data to my computer, will you? Thanks!" Lexington called over his shoulder, then he leapt off the balcony. "Wahooo!"

Warren grinned as he launched himself into the night sky, following his diminutive friend.

.

"Lexington."

"Goliath." Lexington grinned. "Hey, meet Angel, he's another flier."

Warren stared up at the looming figure that had stepped into the light.

"It is an honour to meet you." He rumbled and Warren gulped.

"L… likewise…"

"I am heading to the castle, Xanatos has asked for a meeting with Xavier, and for me to be there too. Brooklyn is taking over in my absence."

"Sure." Lexington chirped and Goliath nodded before leaping into the air and swooping off. Lexington grinned.

"Come on, it's time for you to meet the others!"

"Hold on." Warren said slowly. "He said Xanatos. Is that.. David Xanatos? Of Xanatos Enterprises?"

"Yep."

Warren frowned. "If David Xanatos is working with Xavier… I think I need to talk to someone tomorrow morning. Quite urgently."

Lexington looked at him in confusion and Warren sighed.

"My name is Warren Worthington III. My father runs Worthington Industries and if Xanatos is seeking an advantage, my father needs to know."

Lexington looked downcast and Warren smiled at him.

"It can wait until after sunrise as he isn't a morning person. Now, where are the others you wanted to introduce me to?"

.

"_In a surprise announcement yesterday, Warren Worthington the Second, the CEO and owner of _Worthington Industries_, announced that it is sponsering Bayville Academy, the school linked to the _X-Men_ and their junior division, _Generation-X_._

"_This announcement follows _Xanatos Enterprises_ public announcement of a partnership with Superman's company _K-Tech_, the source of many recent technological advances in the fields of clean power generation and medical treatments._

"_In related news, Warren Worthington the Third has revealed that he is a mutant. Capable of flight due to his white-feathered wings, New York's newest hero has taken to the skies as Angel. In a statement released to the press, Superman has welcomed Angel to the ranks of those who use their powers to uphold the law and protect the innocent. Angel is currently under the guidance of Goliath, the leader of the nocturnal team known as the Gargoyles…_"

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

_Author's Afternote :-This is a character piece since introducing Angel since a couple of the planned plotlines for the Institute Saga III (when I write it next year) rely on him, but I didn't want to have him subsumed into the X-Men, so having him as a semi-independent character seems to work._


	5. Upgrades

**Upgrades**

.

"Aaaaaad… _that_ should do it." Tony Stark finished, leaning back and wiping his forehead. "Jarvis, run some tests on the new core and suit, will you?"

"_Commencing tests now, sir._" Jarvis replied as Tony took a swig of cola. "_All tests have been concluded._"

"Wow, that was fast." Tony said, his eyebrows raised in surprise. "Ummmm, report?"

"_The new computational core is ready for upload._" Jarvis said and Tony could have sworn he had heard excitement in the virtual personality's voice. "_All indications are that my processing speed will be increased by at least fifty six percent while my RAM will be quintupled._"

"Okay, then you may as well move into your new home." Tony smirked. "Remind me to send a thank-you to Clark and Forge for whipping that tech up for me."

"_Very good, sir. The move has been completed and I am running my optimisation algorithms now._"

Tony glanced at the screen showing Jarvis' status and whistled as several of the bars suddenly lengthened.

"Very nice." He said approvingly. "Almost as nice as my new reactor."

"_Indeed, sir, although it was quite entertaining watching Miss Potts explaining why she should not be kept out of decisions like that in the future._"

Tony winced at the reminder of having to dodge a large number of thrown pieces of crockery while his team-mates laughed at him (the traitors). "In my defence, I'm not dying any more and I now have over four times the power for my armour."

Jarvis didn't comment at that, although Tony could almost hear the cutting remark.

"So," He said in an attempt to re-direct the conversation. "I think it's time to take the Mark 45 out for a little test-flight and try out the new neural link."

"_Very good, sir."_

Tony moved to stand in the center of the room and spread his arms.

"Iron Man, armour up!"

Several armatures extended out of small paneld in the floor and ceiling although instead of the normal multi-jointed arms of the previous iterations, these one were tipped with small glowing dishes made of crystal pentagons. The gravetic fields that they generated controlled the movement of the armour as it floated into place around him, then Tony found himself hovering in the air.

"What the…?"

"_You _did_ give Forge permission to make upgrades to increase efficiency, sir."_ Jarvis said as the armour slotted into place on Tony's body. _"This is a localised null-gravity field."_

"Wow." Tony said as the helmet faceplate slid into place and he was lowered to the ground. "I want one for my bedroom."

"_Your request has been forwarded to K-Tech Industries."_ Jarvis said as the ceiling above Tony slid open. _Gravetic cannon is ready."_

"Wait, gravetic wha-_aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahooooooo_! Oh yeeeeeeaaaaah!"

.

Pepper turned as a portion of the balcony floor opened. A slight shimmering showed that a protective field had activated to stop anyone falling in, then a red-and-gold blur shot upwards, the hatch closing behind it.

"Did he like it?"

Tony zoomed down past the window and a moment later, the hatch re-opened.

"I'll take that as a yes." Pepper laughed as once again, Iron Man was catapulted through the hatch and into the sky. "Jarvis, give me a link to Tony please."

"_Whahoooo! What a rush!_" Tony's voice echoed and Pepper smiled.

"I thought you'd like that."

"_It was you who had it put in?_" Tony laughed. "_Give yourself another raise, Pepper._"

"At this rate, I'll soon be earning more than you." Pepper mock-protested.

"_We both know you're worth it._" Tony countered. "_Oh, I _so_ have to persuade Fury to put one in the Helicarrier._"

"I had Supergirl test it out for me." Pepper noted as she returned to her desk and started shuffling data on the holoscreens. "Thor as well. It only works for fliers, those with parachutes or similar and supervillains."

"_Wait, supervillains?_"

"Can you imagine the look on Loki's face if he suddenly gets hurled out of the tower by that?"

Tony's laughter echoed across the commlink.

.

Fury nodded as he looked around him.

"Nice."

"Means less things to risk bumping against if the helicarrier gets impacted." Clark said as Fury tapped on one of the projected holoscreens, nodding as he encountered what seemed to be a solid surface, then Fury moved the screen to the other side and back again before tapping on a corned of it, causing it to shrink and descend, turning from a full-sized hovering screen to a small image on the handrail. Fury minimised the other screens, then turned.

"I approve. Can you get similar upgrades for the other stations?"

"I can." Clark said and Fury pulled up a screen.

"This will also cut down on our maintenance costs… It'll increase the amount in the discretionary funds."

"I can have the new consoles built within a week, ready for installation." Clark said. "In fact, I can probably get the whole bridge outfitted, allowing for the screens to be transferred between the stations."

"Hey, Fury! I found a neat toy that you _need_ for this ship of yours!" Tony called as he strode onto the bridge, raising his faceplate. "Oh! Hey, big blue."

Fury blinked and Clark shook his head. "I should never have allowed you to meet Peter."

"Hey, kid's a genius, like me." Tony grinned. "Shame I can't persuade him to join the Avengers."

"He's happy as a semi-independent operative." Clark shrugged. "What toy were you talking about? The gravetic cannon?"

"Hell, yeah!" Tony laughed. "Best way to launch, ever! And I have the first one!"

"The fifth." Clark corrected. "There's one at the Mansion, the Henshin Rangers have one, Disneyland has a large one…"

"Wait, what? Disneyland?"

Clark nodded. "It's a low-powered horizontal one used on their newst roller-coaster to accelerate the cars."

"…damn." Tony groused. "And there I was thinking that I was ahead of the game like usual. Disneyland?"

"And the fourth?" Fury asked.

"Baxter building. It's another large one, used to launch either the Fantasticar, Johnny or Karsta. Or Reed as he can be his own parachute. Apparently Johnny loves it."

"Yeah, it is a rush." Tony agreed. "You _gotta_ get one."

"I'll consider it." Fury said slowly. "I have my eye on another flier who could be a useful addition to SHIELD."

"Oh? Who?" Tony asked curiously.

"No-one you know." Fury stated. "Clark agreed to talk to him for me."

.

The winged figure coasted on the updrafts over Manhatten, looking down at the skyscrapers. His reverie was shattered by an unexpected voice.

"Peaceful up here, isn't it."

"Wha… Superman?"

"Please, call me Clark." Superman said as he took position just off the figure's left wing. "I assume that you are Samual Wilson, former Pararescue lieutenant?"

Samual nodded slowly. "That's me. Why?"

"I've been asked to approach you on behalf of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

"SHIELD?" Samual asked. "I heard about them just before I mustered out. What do they want with me?"

Clark shrugged. "You have built your own flying suit, showing that you are technologically adept and resourceful. They want to recruit you."

Samual frowned, then cursed as a shower of sparks erupted from one wing. "Damn!"

"Looks like a short in the third turbine." Superman said as he moved to just below Samual. "Hold on and I'll get you down safely."

Samual reached out and got a good grip on Superman's shoulders. "So, who leads SHIELD?"

"Nick Fury."

"Fury?" Samual repeated. "Wow, so _that_'s where he went! I served alongside him on one mission, he's a real patriot. I'm in."

Superman nodded, then frowned. "You know, I could help you to upgrade your suit. You want to be your best when you report to Director Fury."

"Oh?"

.

"This… is … awesome!" Samual crowed as the forcefield wings stretched and folded in response to his mental commands.

"The wings are special force-fields controlled via the neural interface band in your new goggles." Clark said as Samual posed in front of the mirror. "Although not indestructable, they have about the same resistance as three inches of titanium and if disrupted, reform within a tenth of a second. You should have some tactile feedback from them as well."

Samual nodded as he stretched his wings out, noting the feather-like pattern on them.

"Thrust is provided through the gravetic drive unit mounted between the wing generation arrays with secondary units mounted on your boots." Clard added. "Again, they are controlled through the neural link. Combined with the wings, they should give you an incredible amount of maneuverability."

"Feels amazing." Samual noted. "And this suit…"

"Standard Kryptonian combat bodysuit, highly resistant to small- and medium-arms fire as well as most low- to medium-level energy attacks." Clark said with a smile. "Fully climate-controlled, so you'll never have to worry about overheating."

Samual nodded and stroked the guns on his hips. "And these… multi-function energy pistols… wow."

"Suitable for stunning enemies, knocking them over or cutting through things if needed." Clark agreed. "Targeting is linked to your goggles, you should see the where the shots will hit."

Samual unholstered one of the guns and pointed it at the wall, moving it slightly. "Yep, damn cool. How much does this all cost?"

"SHIELD is meeting the costs." Clark shrugged as Forge moved to slightly adjust one of the wing arrays. "Here's a troubleshooting datapad in case anything goes wrong and feel free to call me if you need help."

Samual nodded, then grinned as he looked at the reflection of his belt buckle.

"A winged alliance logo."

"It seemed a good compromise between your new icon and the normal Institute Alliance logo." Clark shrugged.

"Looks a bit like a falcon with those wings." Samual agreed. "I think I'll keep it."

"So, let's get you used to that suit, and then we'll meet Fury."

.

Nick Fury stood on the deck of the Helicarrier as two small dots grew in the skies ahead of him. One of the dots soon resolved into the familiar form of Superman while the second was a winged individual.

The duo swooped in and Superman landed as easily as if he was stepping down. The other figure flared his wings and landed in a three-point crouch before the wings folded down in a way that shouldn't have been possible.

"Nick Fury, Samual Wilson, also known as Falcon." Clark smiled as Samual rose from his crouch. "Samual, Director Fury of SHIELD."

"Nice outfit." Fury noted. "Upgrade?"

"Upgrade." Samual nodded.

.

.

.

.

.

_Author's afternote:- This is a short chapter deigned to introduce another character for if I need him as well as to load a few new Chekov's Guns, such as the neural link in Tony Stark's mk45 Iron Man suit._

_I'm still working on sorting out the planned plotlines for IS3, so it will probably be readable (and posted) early next year (with luck)._


	6. Iron Healer

Tony looked up from the console as one of the Institute's students walked into the Geek's Lair, looking around.

"Hey." He said in greeting and the girl looked at him, then stared at his chest where his ARC reactor was glowing.

"Is… is that…"

"The thing that keeps the shrapnel from piercing my heart." Tony confirmed and the girl tilted her head slightly.

"Why don't you just get the shrapnel out?"

Tony snorted. "It's too close to my nerves and veins. Any attempt to cut it out would kill me."

For a long moment, the girl looked thoughtful, then she nodded.

"I can get the shrapnel out for you."

Tony blinked. "What?"

.

"I'm surprised that I didn't think of that." Xavier admitted. "If anyone can get the shrapnel out without causing damage, Kitty would be the one."

"But… how?"

"The same way that she saved young Chris' life." Xavier explained. "Kitty has managed to develop incredible control over her phasing powers. She could reach into your chest and simply phase the shrapnel out without causing any damage."

Tony blinked at that. "She… could?"

Xavier nodded. "Yes. Of course, I would insist that it be done in the medical bay here. Although the one in Stark Tower is impressively equipped…"

"It's still not up to pure Kryptonian standards." Tony finished with a slight laugh, then he sobered. "Charles… do you know what this means to me? A chance to be… normal again."

"Something that most of my students wish for every day." Xavier sighed.

Tony sighed. "Sorry. It's just… ever since Afghanistan, I've almost defined myself by… by _this_."

Xavier nodded as Tony tapped himself on the chest, making a slight metallic noise.

"I mean, sure, it keeps me alive and I do great things with it, but at the same time… it's the difference between a panic room and a prison. The first you lock from inside, the second is locked from outside. They can both be unlocked, but…"

"I believe I follow you." Xavier said as Tony placed a hand over his implanted ARC reactor.

"All this time, I've needed this, but it's been the key on the outside. If Kitty can do what she says… the key will be on the inside."

For a long moment, both men were silent, then Tony spoke again.

"Charles… if this works, Kitty should be rewarded. I'll pay for her tuition fees, here, Uni, heck! She wants a job with Stark Enterprises or a spot on the Avengers, I'll make it happen!"

"I wouldn't tell her that yet." Xavier warned. "She is still too young for the sorts of things that you encounter on a regular basis."

Tony shrugged slightly. "The offer still stands. Heh, she would have been a real asset about four missions ago. Someone stole a group of biocomputers and we managed to get all except one of them back. Kitty could have just run through the goons and walls to the controls and slammed the doors shut before they could leave the building. Damn place was a fricking maze. We had to have Banner make a few new doors."

Tony went silent again, then he chuckled. "Ah hell, look at me. Nervous. Okay, let's do this."

"I shall ask Kitty to come."

"I think Clark's off doing good again, so I'll call… Karsta. Hope Susan don't mind me borrowing her shopping buddy."

"Given her medical skills, an excellent choice." Xavier nodded.

.

"You know, there're hundreds if not thousands of women who'd love to be here now." Tony joked as he shucked his shirt before lying down on the padded table. Kitty rolled her eyes.

"Why? You're… _old_."

Tony gasped and clutched at his chest. "Moi? Old? No, I'm not old! I'm too handsome to be old!"

Kitty shook her head while Karsta's lips twitched in a slight smile, then Tonly looked at the short armatures rising up around him.

"Um, what are those tentacles for? You know, I really don't think that I like tentacles… I've read too many Japanese comics…"

Kitty shot Karsta a confused look, getting a shrug in return, then the tentacles suddenly lit up.

"Whoah! I… I can't move! Okay, that's pretty damned cool. That's me? Wow, I have a _handsome_ set of internal organs."

Kitty sighed as she looked at the semi-transparent hologram just above Tony, then she whistled.

"Whoah! Another half-centimeter…"

"Four point two millimeters, to be precise." Karsta noted. "The field from the device is holding the shrapnel steady, but I am concerned about the long-term effects."

"Yeah, the old model was poisoning me." Tony admitted. "So, can you do this?"

Kitty nodded, then placed her hand on Tony's chest.

"He is immobilised." Karsta stated. "You may begin."

Tony's eyes widened as Kitty's hand seemed to vanish into his chest as if she was sliding it into a pool of still water, then his gaze rose to the hologram where a representation of Kitty's hand was curling round the largest piece of shrapnel. A few seconds passed, then Kitty removed her hand from his chest…

…and dropped the shrapnel into a small bowl.

"Wow." Tony breathed. "That was… For a moment, it looked like you were trying to grab my heart, and sorry, but only one woman can do that."

Kitty paused, then swatted Tony on his forehead.

"Owwww. Please, I'm the patient here, you're meant to be nice to me."

"Stark, hush." Kitty commanded as she placed her hand on his chest again, glancing up at the hologram. "Which bit is the most dangerous one now?"

An odd targeting caret that looked like a crystal formed around one of the metallic shards and Kitty nodded.

"Okay, here we go."

.

Tony sat at the table, staring at the collection of small, metallic scraps in the bowl in front of him.

"Wow." He said for the fifth time as he reached out, stirring the shards with one finger. "What am I going to do with these?"

For a long moment, he frowned in thought, then he tipped the bowl out and began rearranging the shards.

"Maybe… I wonder… perhaps…"

"What's that?"

Tony blinked and the half-turned to see a dark-haired young boy looking at the metal curiously.

"Shrapnel. Until an hour ago, it was trying to kill me. I'm just deciding what to do with it."

The boy walked over to the table and, glancing at Tony for permission, picked up one of the pieces, looking at it closely.

"It looks… etched?"

Tony took the piece and looked closely at it, then looked at the boy.

"I don't see anything."

"Sorry, I think I just used microscopic vision." The boy grinned in embarrasment. "My powers are… starting to activate."

Tony blinked a few times, then he pointed at him.

"I _knew_ you looked familiar! Chris Kent, right?"

"Yep." The now-identified Kryptonian nodded, then he turned as a trrnaged girl entered. "Hey, Laura, I just… uh… Ah! Sorry! Didn't mean to see that!"

Both Tony and Laura stared at Chris in confusion as the boy clapped both hands over his eyes while apologising, then Tony started to laugh.

"Oh, if only I had the power to see through things."

"You… looked through my clothes?" Laura said quietly and Chris flinched.

"I didn't mean to! It just happened! I'm sorry!"

"His powers are activating." Tony noted and Laura nodded.

"When I first used claws, did not know how to make them go in or out. Needed practice. Eyes must be same way. You not mean to look and you say sorry, so it alright. Not angry."

Chris looked up as Laura pulled him into a brief hug, resting his head against her shoulder. "Now, what happening here?"

"Oh, Tony was just wondering what to do with the shrapnel that had once been in him."

Laura looked at Tony, then at the shrapnel for a long moment before her hands darted out, flickering as they rearranged the metal into the shape of a circled A.

"Was assassin." She said as Tony stared at her in shock. "Put things together was needed skill."

"Cool." Tony grinned. "Wait, claws? Like Wolverine?"

"He father." Laura explained.

Tony stared at her for a long moment. "Interested in a position with the Avengers?"

"No." Laura said, glancing down at Chris. "Generation X first, then X-Men with partner. We practice. Know fastball special."

"You throw him?" Tony chuckled and Laura shook her head as Chris tried hard not to snigger.

"No. He throw me."

"What?"

.

"Tony," Pepper asked as she saw the rectangle of illuminated plastic in pride of place on the shelf, a rectangle containing what looked like a broken Avengers symbol. "What is that?"

"That, Miss Potts," Tony said grandly, "Is not only my newest trophy, but also the one that I got in Afghanistan."

Pepper walked forwards to look more closely at the metal held suspended in the plastic, then her eyes widened as she realised what she was looking at.

"Tony is this…?"

"It is." Tony smiled and he engulfed her in a hug from behind.

"But… all the surgeons said…" Pepper managed, trying to come to terms with what she was seeing.

"It's a long story, but the short version is that now I don't have to worry about my reactor giving out." Tony laughed, his goatee tickling the side of her neck. "I've already set it up so that Kitty's education is paid for and she has a job here if she wants."

"Kitty?" Pepper frowned as she mentally flipped through the list of people she knew. "Wait, one of Xavier's students? But she's a teenager!"

"A teenager with a very useful power." Tony smirked.

.

.

.

.

.

_Author's afternote – I often wondered why, given that they shared the same universe, Tony didn't ask Xavier if there was anything that he could do about the shrapnel problem._

_Also, the Fastball Special referred to featured in the Institute Saga II._


	7. Omake - Tri-Wizard Tournament

**Omake- Twiwizard Champions**

.

_This story is based on my Institute Saga series and Eternity Sword's story Harry Romanoff Barton (link in my profile). Although it uses characters and settings from those stories, it is not part of the continuities involved, hence the Omake label._

_Oh, I didn't get the numbers of warriors wrong, it refers to something I've plotted out in the Institute Saga 3, once I finally get it to a publishable stage…_

.

Harry Romanoff-Barton (born Harry Potter) groaned as everyone turned to face him even as the flames on the never-damned-enough Tri-wizard Cup died down.

"Harry, please join the other champions." Dumbledore said slowly. As Harry rose, he suddenly grinned as an idea occurred to him.

"I am honoured to participate as the champion of the Xavier Institute of the Gifted." He stated, causing a wave of whispered comments to ripple across the room. "If you will allow me…"

Reaching into one of his inner pockets, Harry pulled out a phone which had been modified by his uncles Tony Stark and Reed Richards to not just be immune to magical influences, but to also be powered by ambient magic, meaning that it would never go flat.

"_Xavier Institute, Chris Kent here._" A voice answered.

"Chris? Harry." Harry said. "There's been a problem…"

"_I'll be there in a few minutes._" Chris replied and the line went dead. Harry looked round at the silently-staring throng.

"What?"

"That…" Hermione finally managed. "That's a _phone_! But they don't work in magical environments! It says so in _Hogwarts: A History_!"

Harry grinned as he held up the phone so that Hermione could see the logo on the back, the world-recognised Xavier/House of El icon overlaid with the Stark Industries logo. Hermione's eyes widened so much that Harry feared that they might fall out. As he returned the phone to his pocket, a massive knock echoed through the hall and the doors opened to reveal Chris Kent in his standard X-men bodysuit and leather jacket.

"Harry!" He called, "Sorry it took so long. So, what's up?"

"Merlin!" Hermione half-shrieked. "You… you're Superboy!"

"I think I need to change that." Chris sighed. "Now I'm no longer a teenager, I think a new name would be a good move. You know, free it up for another. So, what's the problem?"

.

.

Wand Weighing

.

"Ah, Mr. Potter." Garrick Ollivander said as Harry entered the room where the other three champions were assembled. "Do you have your wand with you?"

Harry grinned as he pulled his wand out of his forearm holster and Ollivander's eyes widened at the sight.

"Wha… that… Mr Potter, may I examine your wand, please?"

Harry held out his wand, balanced across his palms, letting Ollivander take it.

"This… is _not_ the wand I sold you, Mr Potter." He finally said. "I cannot identify it…"

"Lady Frigga took my old wand and upgraded it, sir." Harry said, earning a several disbelieving stares. "The wood is Holly fused with Ygdrassil while the core is the original pheonix feather set between two wingfeathers, one from Huginn, the other from Muninn. The runes are inlaid with _uru_ and the base and tip are shod in it as well. Sif and the Warriors Four trained me in the basics of staff-fighting."

"May I enquire as to why?" Ollivander asked faintly as he carefully held out the wand for Harry to reclaim. Harry grinned as he held the wand vertically, then it suddenly expanded into a five-foot-long staff with metal-capped ends.

"Because I needed to re-learn how to use it." Harry explained, inwardly howling with laughter at the shocked faces around him.

.

.

First Task

.

Harry stepped into the Champion's Tent and grinned at the gobsmacked look that the other three champions were giving him. After a long silence, Cedric Diggory finally spoke up.

"Harry… _what_ are you wearing?"

"Oh, this old thing?" Harry teased. "Formal Kryptonian ceremonial battle armour. It was made for me by Cousin Chris and Uncle Tony. Tony said that I should be known as the Iron Mage in this."

The confused stares didn't abate in the slightest and Harry shrugged. As he moved to the spare seat, the tent flap opened again to reveal the jovial form of Ludo Bagman, followed closely by the news repoerter Rita Skeeter.

"Hello to our cha… _what_ are you wearing?"

"Oh, zat old zing?" Fleur Delacour said in an off-handed tone of voice. "Eet iz only un Formal Kryptonian ceremonial armour. How iz eet zat vous ne'pas comprende zis?"

Victor Krum and Cedric promptly bit their fists in their attempts not to laugh while Bagman stood stock-still, staring at them in shock.

"There's nothing in the rulebook saying that I can't use it." Harry added with a grin. "And the rules can't be changed after the competition has started."

For a long moment, Bagman stood with a blank expression on his face, then he inhaled sharply and shook his head. "Alright. Ummm, in the meantime, we have in this bag tokens that tell you what you are facing and which order you should go in. Your task is to retreive a golden egg that holds the clue to the next task."

Fleur reached into the proffered bag and pulled out a model dragon with the number 2 attached to it.

"So, you will go second, facing the Chinese fireball." Ludo supplied as Krum stomped forwards to reach into the bag.

.

Harry stepped out of the tent and grinned as he saw Professor Xavier amongst the line of judges. In front of them was the bound form of Alistair Moody, something which Harry decided to ask about _after_ the task.

Scattered through the watching crowd were other people he recognised. All of the Avengers had shown up as well as some Asguardians, including Odin himself. The X-Men were all present, as were Generation-X, the Excalibur Team, the Henshin Rangers and even a group from Genosha incuding King Marko (AKA Juggernaut), his blond wife and their adopted daughter. To one side, amongst the wizards charged with keeping the Dragons under control, Superman gave him a quick wave before returning to his discussion with Charlie Weasley.

Even Goliath and his wife were present, the medallion on Goliath's chest showing how he was awake during the daylight hours.

"And our final contestant, representing Xavier's School for the Gifted, HARRY POTTER!" Ludo Bagman announced and the crowd erupted in Harry's amusement, Boom-Boom and Gambit began throwing explosives into the air while Jubilee fire off a rainbow of plasma blasts. As he entered the warded arena, the display died down and Harry tapped the control on his wrist that deployed the helmet. The image on his visor flashed slightly, then a tactical readout appeared. With a grin that no-one could see, Harry readied his sonic stunner and began to walk forwards.

.

"That was awesome!" Ron Weasley gushed as Harry stepped into the Gryffindor Common Room along with a few of his friends America. "I mean, the thing just bathed him in fire and he stepped out _totally_ unscathed… then he sent that bolt of light and _whump_! Dragon down! I can't believe they penalised him for using non-magical methods, though. That's just harsh!"

"We know, Ron." Hermione sighed. "We were there too, remember?"

"Hey, guys?" Harry called and the room went silent. "I'd like you to meet some of my friends!"

.

The Ball

.

Harry stepped into the chamber off the hall and smirked as everyone there stared at him.

"More Stark stuff?" Cedric asked and Harry shook his head.

"No, formal Asgardian Robes. Uncle Thor took me to Asgard last summer and I got these there."

Harry stepped to one side and half-turned as he offered his hand to the blond girl accompanying him.

"May I present Elsie Dee, a member of Generation-X?"

Elsie gave a shallow curtsey and Minerva McGonogall raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Generation-X… so are you another with odd powers?"

"Oh, no." Elsie chirped. "I'm an artificial human. I was originally created by some bad people to kill Logan, but my mission was discovered and I managed to over-write my original programming, although I did get severely damaged. Clark and Forge rebuilt me and I got upgraded recently."

"Upgraded?" Minerva asked in a tone of voice that indicated that she didn't really think that she wanted to know.

"I'm now totally immune to magic." Elsie smiled. "All it does is to help power my systems."

"I… see…" Minerva said in a faint voice.

.

.

The Second Task

.

Harry stood on the dock, once again clad in his armour.

"You know, I hardly think it's fair that you should get all of the cool stuff." Cedric half-joked. "Although, that _does_ work underwater, right?"

"Fully waterproof and airtight so I can go into space if I want." Harry laughed. "Never tried it, but I've been told that it'll work. Huh, Elsie's getting bored."

All three other champions blinked and Harry tapped his ear.

"She's moaning that being tied to the statue in the middle of the merpeople's village is boring, especially since she can't download their language in order to talk to them and the other three hostages are in magical comas, so they're not very good talkers either. She's sending an image."

Harry held out his palm and an holographic image of the statue and the four tied to it formed, along with tags showing their vitals.

"Yep, they're alive and unharmed, just out cold." Harry noted. "Elsie's put tracking beacons on them just in case."

"Gabrielle!" Fleur gasped, staring at the smallest figure.

"'Ermy-ninny." Krum said quietly.

"That's Cho Chang!" Cedric stated. "No way am I letting her stay down there…"

"Look, I can get back in under a minute and we will have a full hour." Harry said. "If you haven't made it there within fifty-five minutes, I'll rescue your hostage for you as well as my own. It's part of the Avenger's code, _no-one left behind_."

"Zank you." Fleur said with a smile.

"Alright!" Ludo called as he walked across to them. "You… what is that in your hand?"

.

Fleur emerged from the water, bleeding and cradling a broken arm. A moment later, Poppy Pomphrey was with her, as was Headmistress Maxime.

"I… could not reach her." Fleur said calmly, despite the pain she was feeling. "Ze Gryndelows, zey were ferocious. I had to retreat."

"You seem to be taking this very calmly givin that it's your sister down there." Maxime noted and Fleur smiled.

"'Arry, he say if any of us do not make eet, he vill bring back our 'ostages. Gabrielle vill be returned in 'is arms. She vill be 'appy, she always like to 'ear about ze boy who lived."

.

"…and, finishing almost exactly on the hour, Harry Potter!" Ludo announced as Harry landed, Elsie riding his back and a young girl in his arms. "And it looks like he has rescued Fleur's hostage too! All the hostages have been returned!"

Harry grinned at the excitable veela girl, then let Fleur scoop her from his arms even as Elsie dropped to the dock.

"That was _boring_!" She declared with a huff. "I was down there for almost _four_ hours! If it happens again, I'll insist on a download for Mermish!"

Fleur giggled at Elsie's indignant statement.

"And so now for the scores!" Ludo announced, dragging attention back to the panel of headteachers. "Victor Krum finished first, using a partial self-transfiguration into a shark! The score, please?"

With a smirk, Headmaster Karkaroff lifted his wand and the number 10 flowed out of it. Dumbledore was next with a 9 while Maxime gave an 8. Xavier tapped the device on the table before him and a holographic 9 rose into the air.

"36 out of a possible 40!" Bagman called. "Next was Cedric Diggory who used a Bubblehead Charm.

The scores for Cedric were a 7, 9, 9 and 8 respectively.

"33 out of 40! Harry Potter rescued _two_ hostages using a non-magical suit that can fly underwater! The scores are… 4 from Durmstrang, 6 from Hogwarts, 6 from Beuxbatons and 9 from the Institute! Only 25 out of 40. Finally Fleur Delacour who failed to reach her hostage and had to retire having taken several injuries."

Karkaroff's wand traced a 6 in the air while Dumbledore's delivered a 7. Maxime gave an 8 while Xavier sent up a holographic 6.

"27 out of 40!" Bagman called. Harry took the opportunity to look round and soon spotted Alistair Moody, who was sitting on a stool talking to Amelia Bones.

"Huh." He mused. "I wonder what _that_'s all about."

.

.

Final Task

.

"Hey, brat." A familiar voice said and Harry grinned as he turned round.

"Dad! Mum!"

Harry hurled himself towards the pair and caught them in a hug.

"Heard you've had quite the excitement." Natasha Romanoff teased while Clint changed his hold to allow him to ruffle Harry's hair.

"What happened with Professor Moody?" Harry asked, causing his parents to exchange glances.

"We'll tell you afterwards." Natasha said, earning an accepting nod. "Now, head out there and show them how good you are!"

Harry laughed as he released them from his hug. "Will you let me join Generation-X if I win?"

"Actually, there's a new group starting up." Clint grinned. "The Young Avengers. We think you'll fit in with them, although it'll have to be part-time at first."

"You'll finish your education first." Natasha agreed and Harry nodded, grinning hugely.

.

The whistle blew for the fourth time and Harry activated his suit's gravity-thrusters, flying straight through the entrance where the other champions had begun earlier. Rather than follow the paths of the maze, Harry fired the repulsors set into his gauntlets, ripping open the walls of the maze in front of him and sending fragments of shrubbery flying. Five blasts later, he emerged into the central courtyard and grabbed the trophy. As he did so, the plants forming the walls seemed to shudder, then they shrivelled and disintegrated, revealing some of the monsters and obstacles that had been in the different portions of the maze.

As he looked round, he could see his godfather Sirius finishing giving his mother a sloppy celebratory kiss before trying (and failing) to escape her reflexive strike that dropped him into a small ball of pain.

"Well done." Clark said as he landed beside Harry. "You did good."

Harry beamed.


	8. Infodump - Team Rosters

_Team Rosters as of the end of IS3_

_* indicates incomplete team listing_

.

Current Teams :-

* * *

><p><strong>Acolytes<strong>

Magneto (Erik Lensherr) - Leader  
>Chrome (Allen Yuricic) – 2IC<br>_Colossus (Piotr Rasputin)_ – Former Member  
>Frenzy (Joanna Cargill)<br>_**Galatea {Kryptonian clone}**_ – Former Member**  
><strong>_Gambit (Remy Etienne LeBeau)_ – Former Member  
>Javitz (Isaac Javitz)<br>Kleinstock Brother (Eric Kleinstock)  
>Kleinstock Brother (Harlan Kleinstock)<br>Kleinstock Brother (Sven Kleinstock)  
>Myst (Amelia Voght)<br>_Mystique (Raven Darkholme)_ – Former Member  
>Pyro (Saint-John Allerdyce)<br>Quicksilver (Pietro Maximoff)  
>Sabertooth (Victor Creed)<br>TekMage (Francisco Milan)

* * *

><p><strong>Apocalypse's Servants <strong>_(Disbanded)_

Apophis (Kevin Sydney)  
>Archangel (Warren Worthington III)<strong><br>Galatea {Kryptonian clone}**  
>Magneto (Erik Lensherr)<br>Mesmero (Vincent)  
>Mr Sinister (Nathaniel Essex)<br>Red Skull (Johann Schmidt)

* * *

><p><strong>Avengers<strong>

Captain America (Steve Rogers) – Leader  
>Iron Man (Tony Stark) – 2IC<br>Black Widow (Natasha Romanoff)  
>Hawkeye (Clint Barton)<br>Hulk (Bruce Banner)  
><strong>Supergirl (Kara Kent)<br>**Thor Odinson  
>Harry Romanoff-Barton - Honorary Member<br>Remus Lupin - Civilian Consultant (Magic)

* * *

><p><strong>Avengers (West Coast)*<strong>

War Machine (James _"Rhodey"_ Rhodes) - Leader  
>Squirrel Girl (Doreen Green) – 2IC<br>Giant Man (Henry Pym)  
>Living Lightning (Miguel Santos)<br>Wasp (Janet Van Dyne)

* * *

><p><strong>Brotherhood<strong>

Mystique (Raven Kent) – Leader  
>Avalanche (Lance Alvers) – 2IC<br>Blob (Fred Dukes)  
><em>Quicksilver (Pietro Maximoff)<em> - Former Member  
>Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff)<br>Toad (Todd Tolansky)

* * *

><p><strong>Excalibur*<strong>

Captain Britain (Brian Braddock) - Leader  
><strong>Mon-El (Lar Grand)<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Fantastic Five<strong>

Mr Fantastic (Reed Richards) – Leader  
>Invisible Woman (Susan Richards) – 2IC<br>Human Torch (Johnny Storm)  
>The Thing (Ben Grimm)<br>**Karsta Wor-Ul**

* * *

><p><strong>Gargoyles<strong>

Goliath - Leader  
>Brooklyn – 2IC<br>Angela  
>Archangel (Warren Worthington III)<br>Broadway  
>David Xanatos<br>Desdemona {Cybernetic Gargoyle}  
>Elisa Maza - Police Liaison<br>Fox Xanatos  
>Hudson<br>Lexington  
>Othello {Cybernetic Gargoyle}<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Generation X<strong>

Beast (Hank McCoy) – Leader  
>Berzerker (Ray Carter )<br>Boom-Boom (Tabitha Smith)  
>Cannonball (Samual Zachary Guthrie)<br>Havoc (Alex Summers)  
>Iceman (Bobby Drake)<br>Jubilee (Jubilation Lee)  
>Kunoichi (Laura X-23)<br>Magma (Amara Juliana Olivians Aquilla)  
>Multiple (Jamie Madrox)<br>Sunspot (Roberto da Costa)  
><strong>Superboy (Chris KentKon-El)  
><strong>Wolfsbane (Rahne Sinclaire)  
>Tyrone Dietz - {Unpowered Human} - Honorary Member_Deceased_

* * *

><p><strong>Genosha Guardians*<strong>

Juggernaut (Cain Marko) – Leader  
>Blink<strong><br>Power Girl (Galatea) {Kryptonian clone}**  
>Iago {Cybernetic Gargoyle}<br>Polaris (Lorna Marko)

* * *

><p><strong>Henshin Rangers*<strong>

**Flamebird (Thara Ak-Var)  
><strong>Silver Samurai (Harada Kenichiro)  
>Sunfire (Shiro Yoshida)<br>Armor (Hisako Ichiki)

* * *

><p><strong>New York Guardians<strong>

The Falcon (Samual Wilson, formerly Angel II) – Leader  
>Spider-Man (Peter Parker) – 2IC<br>American Eagle (Jason Strongbow)  
>Daredevil (Matt Murdock)<br>Firestar (Angelica Jones)  
>Justice (Vance Astrovik)<br>She-Hulk (Jennifer Walters)  
>Tele-Girl (Edie Sawyer)<p>

* * *

><p><strong>X-Force<strong>_ (Disbanded)_

Professor X (Charles Xavier) – Co-Leader  
>Magneto (Eric Lensherr) – Co-Leader<br>Banshee (Sean Cassidy)  
>Darwin (Armando Munez) –<em> Confirmed deceased<em>  
>Frost (Emma Frost)<br>Morph (Kevin Sydney) - _Registered_ _MIA_  
>Sage (Tessa)<br>Wolverine (James "_Logan"_ Howlett)

* * *

><p><strong>X-Men<strong>

Cyclops (Scott Summers) - Leader  
>Storm (Ororo Munroe) - 2IC<br>Colossus (Piotr Rasputin)  
>Forge (Jonathan Silvercloud)<br>Gambit (Remy Etienne LeBeau)  
>Miss Marvel (Jean Grey)<br>Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner)  
>Rogue (Anna Kent )<br>Shadowcat (Katherine _"Kitty"_ Pryde)  
>Spyke (Evan Daniels)<br>Talon (Derek Maza)  
>Wolverine (James "<em>Logan"<em> Howlett)

* * *

><p><strong>Other Kryptonians<strong>

**.**

Agent-C (Shirley/Cir-El) {SWORD / SHIELD}

Nightwing (Lor-Zod) {Asgard, part of the Warriors Four}

Superman (Kal-El/Clark Kent) {Independent operative}

* * *

><p><strong>First Metahuman Company Members<strong>

.

**Sarge** – General enhanced metahuman with boosted strength and resilience.

**Aegis** – Can create temporary shields that are impenetrable but only last 5 secs. Can do up to 6 shields before tiring, needs to recharge for 3 mins per shield used.  
><strong>Airstrike<strong> – Able to fly, generate a protective shield and launch energy attacks. Limited to 2 out of the 3 powers at any given time.  
><strong>Ambush<strong> – Can generate up to thirty fully-equipped temporary duplicates that last approx 5 minutes. Gains all their memories when they dispel, needs a minimum of 8 hours between power usages.  
><strong>Barrage<strong> – Able to telekinetically hurl large objects but must remain motionless to do so.  
><strong>Breacher<strong> – Can infuse energy into solid matter, turning them into explosives that he can detonate with a mental command.  
><strong>Breakdown<strong> – Can selectively disable any mechanical device above a certain level of complexity as long as he can locate it, it is active and within two miles.  
><strong>Bulwark<strong> – Invincible and able to "anchor" himself so that he cannot be moved.  
><strong>Bunker<strong> – Able to reshape the earth to create trenches and/or underground shelters.  
><strong>Chef<strong> – Can cause any seed to grow into a ready-to-harvest plant within 5 minutes. Area of effect limited.  
><strong>Dropzone<strong> – Can teleport a standard fully-loaded cargo container anywhere in the world as long as he knows where the destination is.  
><strong>Fireteam<strong> – Self-duplicator with low-level Hive Mind. Generally manifests in four bodies but can manage up to thirteen without loss of efficiency. Maximum is thirty-seven duplications, but has almost no ability to concentrate at that level.  
><strong>Gateway<strong> – Can open a large portal big enough to allow vehicular transit as long as he is at either the destination or origin and knows the other location.  
><strong>Jammer<strong> – Can detect and decode any radio signal without the need for equipment. Has the capability to temporarily block all radio signals within two miles.  
><strong>Mechanic<strong> – Able to psionically repair items so that they return to pristine condition. Must know how item should be in order to do it.  
><strong>Medic<strong> – Able to apply psionic energy to heal wounds.  
><strong>Minesweeper<strong> – Low-level precog who can use it to see what _not_ to do when defusing bombs and mines.  
><strong>Patrol<strong> – Duplicator who can create permanent clones with low-level inter-clone telepathic capabilities analogous to radio. Can create a clone per week.  
><strong>Rampart<strong> – Capable of raising walls of earth/rock.  
><strong>Recharge<strong> – Absorbs ambient energy and transforms it into electricity. Uses it to recharge batteries etc.  
><strong>Resupply<strong> – Can teleport items from pre-determined locations to his current position.  
><strong>Salvo<strong> – Can create a dozen exploding energy spheres that hover around him and then fire them at a target. Can generate 1 sphere/second.  
><strong>Scout<strong> – Can generate a dozen astral forms to search while the original body remains in a concealed and/or guarded space. Moving his body causes all astral forms to dissipate and him to wake up.  
><strong>Shockwave<strong> – Low-level Terrakinetic with a half-mile range. Can induce destructive vibrations into any solid object he touches.  
><strong>Skirmisher<strong> – Speedster.  
><strong>Sniper<strong> – Low-level precog whose power allows for shots of impossible accuracy.  
><strong>Tactics<strong> – Precog with limit of 57 minutes. Sees the future as branching probability streams.  
><strong>Tank<strong> – Metal human with enhanced strength and toughness.  
><strong>Tiny<strong> – Ten foot tall and capable of lifting thirty tons. Wears armor similar to that used on tanks and uses modified tank cannon as rifle.  
><strong>Triage<strong> – Can place people into stasis for up to 24 hours.  
><strong>Twins<strong> – Two brothers who share a low-level telepathic link. Either can teleport himself (and up to three other people) to his brother's location.  
><strong>Wellspring<strong> – Aquakinetic who can pull water from the ground and purify it.  
><strong>Wingman<strong> – Shapeshifter who can turn into any bird whose feather he last touched. Has feathers sewn into belt for maximum choice.

.

.

.

.

.

_Authors Note – The FMC plays a small part in The Institute Saga III, but is relatively undefined. I created this list to aid in planning the few comments that are dropped about them._


	9. Omake - Wearing The Cape

_Author's note – This Omake was inspired by and is intended to show my appreciation of the Chicago Sentinels series by Marion G. Harmon (who retains all rights etc)._

_It (sort of) takes place in at the climax of the first book in Chapter 39, from which several paragraphs are quoted in italics. The viewpoint is Astra's._

.

**Wearing The Cape – Divergence**

.

_Blasted and burning vehicles littered the shattered compound. A smoky light illuminated dead and moving bodies and shattered buildings. It looked like a scene from hell._

_Ajax and Blackstone had beaten us. Blackstone, already hit, sat propped against the glowing dome that covered Touches Clouds and her protector, firing away with calm precision. His mouth moved as if he were talking to somebody._

_Ajax had engaged the giant. I recognized him from media-coverage of the Caliphate War: Seif-al-Din, the great Islamo-fascist martyr. Martyrs were supposed to stay dead._

_The Sword of The Faith stood ten foot tall, the shadows of enormous angel wings rising from his back. His skin glowed in undulating spots of bright and dim light, looking like the surface of the sun. Towering over Ajax, he swung a sword bigger than I was. Each impact shook the air._

_Somehow Ajax stood up to him, though the ground shook with the shock of each hit he took on his ringing maul. Seif-al-Din so far outreached him he didn't even try to strike back. Around them lay broken defenders and attackers while others fought on, ignored by the two locked titans._

_Then Ajax went down, maul shattered, the great flaming sword_ blocked from its killing blow by an energy shield projected by someone I had never seen before.

"Hey, big guy." The newcomer grinned. "Looks like you need some help."

"We need to save the President." Atlas announced as he landed beside Ajax, reaching down to help him to his feet even as the newcomer blocked another earth-shaking strike, then Seif-al-Din vanished in a thunderclap, carried away by a blue-and-red blur.

I blinked, then the blond boy laughed as a red-headed man wearing an odd glowing visor joined us.

"Hey, Cyclops."

"Havoc." The visored man said, looking round. "I've tagged all the hostiles."

"Then let's do this!" Havoc laughed, unleashing an energy blast from his right hand.

"We stand together against all odds." Cyclops started with a grin.

"We'll face down men, demons and gods." Havoc joined in with a grin that just as wide.

"We stand for what's right and they will find, that they will fall as it's SUMMERS TIME!"

I stared in amazement as a veritable driving blizzard of red energy bolts erupted from Cyclops' visor, scything through the battlefield as he slowly turned yet somehow not hitting a single one of the military and allied forces. As the barrage ended, Seif-al-Din was slammed into the ground so hard that the impact formed a crater and I stared in shock at the man who had taken down the monstrous being.

"You… you're _Superman_!" I exclaimed in shock, then I blushed at how I must have sounded even as the new trio exchanged looks.

"Am I… _fictional_?" Superman asked and I nodded in confusion. "Ah, must be bleed-over from reality-resonance. Again."

I shook my head in bemusement. That sentence made absolutely _no_ sense to me, yet the other two men obviously understood.

"Hey, boy scout." A rough-looking man with three blades attached to each hand shouted as he approached. "The bad guys are dead, captured or fleeing. Who do we talk to about placing the Gate? And where? I'm missing your mom's cookies."

I looked round at the now-quietening battlefield, seeing almost a dozen figures in uniforms similar to the ones worn by all the newcomers except Superman. And how could he _be_ Superman?

.

"A parallel reality." Blackstone repeated for the fifth time as we sat round the table in the Assembly Room. At the top of the table, President Touches Clouds sat beside Atlas, the two of them still comfortable together from when she had been on the team as one of the founding members. The only other non-Sentinel at the table was Clark Kent, or Superman.

"Multiple parallel realities." Clark replied (again). "I must say though that judging from some of the quantum echoes my scanners picked up, this reality seems to have changed recently."

"The Event." Ajax said, his left hand rubbing the cast on his right arm. "Just over three seconds of worldwide sensory deprivation ten years ago. We still don't know what caused it, but Breakthroughs started happening almost instantly."

Clark nodded. "Ten years ago… in my reality, that would be about when Thanos tried to use the Infinity Gauntlet to become a God. I wonder… All of that power he had gathered had to go somewhere…"

Blackstone shook his head. "Wait… what?"

"It's only a theory." Clark shrugged. "Anyway, on to more pressing matters. I assume that you're the primary superhero team of America?"

"Yes we are." Atlas said with a wry smile. "We were the first and remain the best."

"Excellent." Clark smiled. "May I offer you a moon-dome in my reality as a kind-of embassy for yours? We'll be happy to swap notes on technology, powers, cross-training and medicine."

"I'm listening." Touches Clouds said, leaning forwards.

.

.

.

.

.

_Authors Afternote:- This Omake is a future what-if and is not part of the continuity of the Institute Saga._

_The Chicago Sentinels books written by Marion G. Harmon are (in story order):-_

_Wearing The Cape  
><em>_Villains Inc  
><em>_Bite Me: Big Easy Nights  
><em>_Omega Night (Short Story)  
><em>_Young Sentinels  
><em>_Small Town Heroes  
><em>Ronin Games

_I cannot recommend these stories highly enough and they are available to download for Kindle at Amazon._

.

Edit 15/12/15 - Having read the newest book "Ronin Games" for the umpteenth time, I _finally_ noticed what may be a reference to my IS stories!  
>In the intro to chapter 27, Astra notes that she had visited four extra-reality locations, the Littleton Pocket, [Redacted] (fish-god's world linked to Japan), the <strong>cinematic superheroic Universe Alpha<strong> and Oz.  
>Guess what the reality-line in my IS stories was designated. Yep, Alpha.<br>And in this Omake, Astra confirms that Superman is fictional in her reality...

If this _isn't_ a co-incidence, I have only this to say. **Thanks, Marion! You made my day! Wahoo!**


	10. Nightcrawler Unmasked

_Set just after the conclusion of IS3.  
><em>_Contains spoilers and a crossover with Black Ink._

.

**Nightcrawler Unmasked**

.

Kurt looked nervously at the camera, then at the man sat across from him.

"Just relax." Joseph _"Robbie"_ Robertson offered with a slight smile. "I'll make this as easy as I can for you and if you remember, I interviewed Clark after _his_ identity was revealed. Plus, we're not doing this one live, so there'll be no problems if you do something like faint."

"Faint?!" Kurt echoed, unsure whether to be annoyed or reassured, then a familiar arm snaked around his shoulders.

"Relax, Kurt." Amanda smiled as she pulled him into a one-armed hug. "You faced my parents, this is nothing compared to that."

Kurt nodded, remembering the absolute terror he had felt as he deactivated his holo-watch for the first time in front of Amanda's parents.

"And like then, I'm here too." Clark said from where he was sitting between Kurt and Robbie, angled to make it clear that he was on Kurt's side and clad in a smart pair of trousers and white shirt. Kurt finally relaxed enough that his spine actually managed to touch the backrest of the sofa that he and Amanda were perched on.

"Ready when you are, Robbie." Peter called, having insisted that he be the one to control the cameras. "We're rolling, so start whenever and we'll cut the starting point accordingly."

Robbie nodded. "Thank you, Peter. Kurt, just relax for now while I do this. Starting in three… two… one… Good evening, I am Robbie Robertson and welcome to a special episode of the Daily Bugle Online. Tonight I am joined by several guests. Clark Kent, also known as Superman, Amanda Sefton, a student from Bayville High and the newest publicly revealed superhero, Kurt Wagner, also known as Nightcrawler of the X-men.

"Kurt's identity was revealed during the unfortunate incident that resulted in the death of Tyrone Dietz. Kurt's actions have been described as being the only thing that stopped the situation descending into a bloodbath as he used his teleportation to remove those he could see as being at risk while simultaneously bringing in reinforcements to subdue and capture the gunmen. Already there have been calls for Kurt to be awarded the Medal for Valor."

"_Was? Aber ich weiß nicht verdient!"_ Kurt gasped, then he blinked a few times. "Sorry. I… I don't zhink zat I… I vas juzt… All I did vas vat vas needed."

"If I may." Clark interjected. "What Kurt did was he used his power to remove as many civilians from the area as possible while bringing in reinforcements at the same time. Every person he brought in was, in one way or another, effectively immune to gunfire, allowing them to concentrate on ending the threat while Kurt continued to evacuate as many of those at risk as he could."

Robbie nodded. "As expected of an X-Man."

Kurt's jaw dropped slightly as Clark nodded.

"Kurt is one of the youngest X-Men, but he has _earned_ his position. Should he decide to move on, both the Avengers and Excalibur, the United Kingdom's equivalent, have expressed a strong interest in him joining their ranks."

Amanda gave Kurt a quick squeeze as he fought to come to terms with the new information Clark had provided.

"I believe that Kurt looks rather different in the field." Robbie noted. "Is he a shapeshifter like Mystique?"

"No." Clark said with a sad smile. "Due to the actions of a being known as Azazel, Kurt's power was forcibly manifested when he was very young and includes a physical change. Growing up, Kurt realised that most of the people at the time would not accept him due to his appearance, so he used hooded tops, a scarf and other tricks to hide from them. I took it a step further by giving him a holo-watch, changing his appearance to what he would have looked like had his power not manifested as it did."

"I found out by accident, but by then, I'd already noticed how nice Kurt was." Amanda chimed in. "I _like_ having a boyfriend as unique as Kurt, blue _is_ my favourite colour and I'm proof of what Scott said, _chicks love the fuzzy dude_."

Kurt fought down his laughter at the final part of Amanda's statement while Clark grinned.

"Inside joke." He explained in response to Robbie's confused look. "Blame Cyclops. He's the one who came up with it during a pep-talk for Kurt."

.

"Well, that didn't go too badly." Clark smiled as he stretched in his chair. From across the room, Robbie glanced up with a smile, then returned to helping Forge and Peter edit the several-hours-long recording down to something that could be transmitted.

"You were wonderful." Amanda smiled at Kurt, then she glanced at her watch. "And we're going to be late! Clark, sorry, but we have to go!"

"Ack! _Ja_, ze meal!" Kurt gasped as he leapt off the settee, turning to offer Amanda a hand as she rose. Amanda let him pull her to her feet, then she embraced him as they vanished in a cloud of smoke that was quickly whisked away by the air-conditioning system.

"Wow, he's better at going places than Tele-Girl." Peter noted as Clark strolled over to join them.

"Jenny has a longer range and can carry more people, but if she and Kurt ever went head to head, he'd probably win." Clark supplied. "He's been able to teleport almost from birth, it's something that he can do reflexively whereas Jenny has to actually concentrate."

"So, Kurt's faster at teleporting." Robbie mused as he selected one of the sequences playing out before him.

"He is." Forge agreed. "I've measured both of their powers. From a strategic viewpoint, Tele-Girl has the advantage. From a tactical viewpoint, Kurt is way better."

Robbie nodded, then tapped a couple of controls. "Quiet please… Tonight on Daily Bugle Online, an interview with an X-Man. The hero of Bayville High, Nightcrawler. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good." Forge noted. "I assume you want it cleaned and put over the standard Daily Bugle icon?"

"Hmmmm… can you put the X-Men logo on the back of the Bugle icon so that it's visible as it spins?"

"Copying the file and doing it now." Peter said as his fingers flew across a holo-keyboard.

.

Kurt and Amanda appeared on a circular paving stone set just off the path to the front door of her house, the smoke rapidly dispersing from around them.

"Come on, Kurt." Amanda laughed as the front door opened to reveal her parents. "They're not going to eat you, you know."

"_Ja_… sorry." Kurt apologised as Amanda almost dragged him forwards. "I'm ztill not used to…"

"It's fine." Margali said from the doorway with a slight smile. "Just as long as you don't start trying to eat _each other_…"

"Mu-uuuuum!" Amanda protested as Kurt blushed so hard that it was visible through his fur. "You _know_ we're still too young for that!"

"I know, dear." Margali laughed as she waved the duo inside. "I couldn't resist."

"I'm very glad I got Dad's sense of humour instead." Amanda sighed dramatically.

"You know we both approve of your taste in boyfriends." Margali said as she caught them both in a brief hug. "Why else would we put that target in the front garden for you to use? It's not like we were worried about him teleporting into your bedroom, now, was it?"

"Mu-uuuuum!"

.

The van doors opened to disgorge its occupants and the entire school yard seemed to go silent as one of the figures emerged, looking very different to how he normally did.

"Kurt!"

Kurt turned and only just avoided being knocked over by Amanda's glomp.

"You were only away from him for ten hours." Alex laughed and Amanda stuck her tongue out at him even as she relaxed her grip.

"Leave them alone." Jubilee half-scolded as she watched with a smile. "It's cute."

A massive wave of cheering and applause interrupted them and Amanda tightened her grip on Kurt as their fellow students flooded round, each of them trying to shake Kurt's hand or clap him on his shoulder.

"Vat ze?"

"You're a hero!" Alex shouted over the noise. "Get used to it, Kurt!"

Kurt gave the older boy a look of betrayal before he and Amanda were swallowed by the jubilant crowd.

"Heh, how long do you reckon before he simply teleports out of there?" Spyke laughed and Alex shook his head.

"He can't, not without risking accidentally costing someone a hand or so. Nope, he's stuck in there."

.

"uuuuurgh."

Xavier managed to hide his smile as Kurt staggered into the Mansion, only managing to stay upright due to the support that Amanda was giving him.

"I assume that things did not go too badly?" Xavier offered as innocently as he looked and Kurt gave him an exhausted glare before Chris stepped up.

"You look knackered." He commiserated. "Let's get you to a seat."

Xavier found his self-control strained as he fought to not laugh at the sight of Chris picking up the larger boy and floating down the corridor with Amanda half-jogging to keep up.

"Oh dear." A new voice said and Xavier half-turned to see May Parker smiling after the departing youngsters. "Poor Kurt looks like he's been dragged through a hedge backwards. They must be making quite a fuss of him at school, but why not the others? They've been in almost as many scrapes as him."

"I believe that it is because the _scrapes_, as you put it, occurred elsewhere." Xavier mused. "He willingly unmasked himself by using his power in order to save lives and the students saw it. They know of the sacrifice that he made in order to save as many people as possible, so…"

May slowly nodded as she followed Xavier's logic.

"Mrs Parker, Professor." A new voice said and Charles smiled.

"Clark, welcome back. How did the meeting go?"

"Not bad." Clark shrugged. "Although being with _two_ of my alternates was quite odd."

"What were you doing?" May asked curiously.

"Helping to set up some of the Black Ink equipment." Clark shrugged. "I got to talking with Superboy… Timothy Black, and did you know that Mr Black is the dimensional-counterpart of young Harry Potter?"

"Wait, Harry?" May gasped. "The _Youngest Avenger_?"

Clark nodded. "I talked to Mr Black about it and he's agreed to let me tell you and Martha, but asks that it doesn't go any further. He's also noticed that Ilyana and Amanda are both untrained witches, he's offered to see to their magical training as their magic bloomed too late for traditional magical schooling. He said something about his daughter helping out…"

"I'll have to speak to them about it." Charles noted.

"I'd recommend waiting until tomorrow." Clark smiled. "Amanda, at least, will be too distracted tonight."

"Perhaps I had better call her parents and offer to let her stay over tonight." Charles mused. "Or maybe… could you fly over and explain the situation to them? And maybe pick up some clothes for her in the process."

"Not a problem." Clark grinned. "I'll be back soon."

.

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_Author's afternote - Timothy Black appears in Terminal Justice and was Timothy Hunter (from the Books of Magic comic series) before he was rescued and blood-adopted by Mr Black and Kara._  
><em>All of the Mr Black stories can be found in the <em>BLACK INK_ community (link in profile)_


	11. Tranquil Rage

**Tranquil Rage**

.

Mystique paused at the top of the stairs and watched in confusion as The Falcon, American Eagle and Daredevil all downed their drinks simultaneously before Daredevil motioned for refills. Moving across the upper dance floor of the club, she reached the table that they were at and sat down opposite them.

"Mystique." Daredevil nodded as the waiter refilled their glasses. The other two, who had been looking at her without recognition, nodded their welcomes and turned their attention back to their drinks.

Mystique watched the trio down their drinks again before speaking.

"Two questions. Actually, make that three. How did you know it was me, what are you doing in Bayville and why are you all drinking like that?"

"Your heartbeat is… unique, known heroes get a discount here and long story. In that order." Daredevil replied as he accepted another drink.

Mystique looked round the large club. It had been constructed using a civilian variant of Kryptonian methods augmented with normal building practices, meaning that all the support columns were crystal pillars locked in place so solidly that even a magnitude nine earthquake wouldn't be able to damage them or move them relative to each other. The walls were also panes of crystal on the upper levels, but the lowest level (where the main dancefloor was) was solid brick with a simple white plaster layer (with embedded crystals), allowing the lights to shine off them in constantly-changing colours.

The upper level had alcoves around the dance balcony, each one raised slightly and boasting a table which had the insignia of one of the more popular super-teams on it. The teams themselves could access the club using a special Door kept on the next level up, set at the rear of a large balcony that they could wave to the clubbers from as they arrived or departed.

"Spider-man."

Mystique pulled her attention back to The Falcon as he spoke.

"Peter?"

Samual nodded. "What do you think of him as a person? Honestly?"

Mystique frowned in thought, relaxing her control enough that she shifted back into her normal blue-skinned form (and causing several cries of astonishment from the nearby revelers). "He's intelligent, well-mannered, always wise-cracking… which can be quite annoying at times. Wouldn't hurt a fly if he had any other choice, which is ironic given his superhero name… have I missed something?"

"Our last mission, Peter saw something on the way back." Jason Strongbow said. "One of his friends from before was being attacked. He rescued her, then found out that another had been put into hospital by the same man. A man who had chosen to become a villain and wanted to get street-cred by killing a hero."

"And he chose Peter." Mystique realized with a wince. "He doesn't take threats to his family or friends lightly…"

"The bastard challenged him." Samual stated. "Carnage, he called himself. Almost killed Miss Watson, would have if Jennifer hadn't punched him off her."

"I was too slow." Daredevil sighed. "Peter went straight after him. Carnage had all his powers and more. I don't know if you've heard of Venom…"

"Eddie Brock and an alien symbiote." Mystique supplied.

"But this one, Cletus Cassidy, makes Venom seem like a hero. He injured at least twenty people while leading Peter away from us, people who's only crime had been that they were near enough for him to hurt." Matt continued. "We were rushed off our feet just stopping them from bleeding out long enough for the medics to arrive, then we heard that Peter had managed to confront Cassidy in a building site."

"Peter's faced Venom before, knew his weaknesses." Samual took over as Daredevil downed another shot. "Used them. Witnesses say that Peter didn't say a single word. No one-liners, no puns, just total silence."

Mystique winced again, having been around people who reacted in similar ways in the past.

"How badly…?"

"We _think_ we've recovered most of the symbiote." Jason sighed. "Took us _hours_ of searching, Peter used the building's girders as the conductor for a sonic attack, then separated it. Used concrete slabs and plywood sheets to split it into hundreds of fragments. Many of them died before we could re-unite them, the symbiote lost over half of its mass."

"My god…" Mystique breathed.

"What he did to Cassidy was worse." Matt supplied. "It would be faster to list the bones he _didn't_ break, that would be the upper half of his spine. Every other bone was broken, if not shattered or pulverized. Cassidy should survive, but the med-pod could only stabilise him. He's taken so much damage that he'll be paralysed for life."

"And blind." Samual said morosely. "We only found _one_ of his eyes, damaged beyond possible re-implanting."

Mystique was suddenly grateful that she hadn't eaten anything recently as her stomach tightened.

"One witness said that Cassidy had threatened to do something to May." Jason rumbled, staring into his glass. "Didn't say what, but…"

"The worst part is that I can't blame him." Samual admitted. "If I'd been in his place… I _know_ I've got a temper. I'd have ripped him apart if I could but Peter…? Kid's the poster-child for nice-guy! Hell, he could give Captain America a run for his money in the niceness stakes!"

"I guess the old saying's true." Jason mused. "Beware the nice ones."

"Sounds like it." Mystique agreed, considering ordering a drink for herself. "Where is he now?"

"He said he was going to Xavier for some serious therapy, he doesn't like knowing he can do… what he did." Daredevil replied.

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"How is he?" Clark asked as Xavier closed the door behind him.

"…terrified of what he found out he can do." Xavier finally replied, his face pale and drawn. "He asked, and I agreed, that he be placed in a deep sleep to let his subconcious make headway in dealing with his… realizations."

Clark glanced at the closed door before moving to walk alongside Charles' hoverchair.

"What are the legal issues?"

Charles gave the Kryptonian a surprised look. "Legal issues?"

"Will he have to go to court over it, relive what he went through under cross-examination?"

"Oh. I see what you mean." Xavier realized. "I haven't actually checked yet, but I think that Matt and Jennifer should be able to handle most of it, especially given Carnage's prior record and the fact that there was a warrant out on him."

Clark nodded slowly. "Put me on the list of expert witnesses to testify in Peter's favour if it comes to court."

"I'll make a note of it." Charles said, tapping his fingers on the touch-screen in his armrest.

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"Venom, I think you should see this." Victor Toomes said urgently and Eddie Brock rose from his comfortable armchair.

"We were just getting to the good part." He complained as he carefully put a bookmark into the book that he was reading before placing it on the chair-side table. "What do we need to see?"

"It's something Mysterio found. He was checking his take from various security cameras and… you _need_ to see this."

Brock sighed as he followed The Vulture out of the living area and into the main section where Mysterio was fussing over a hologram in the middle of the room. Brock shook his head in resigned amusement, Mysterio had refused to remove his helmet outside his own room, even though all the others routinely went round un-masked in the base.

Brock's ruminations stopped as he focused on the image projected before him, one showing his hated nemesis Spider-Man swinging above…

"Who is that?" He saked, leaning forwards for a closer look. "He looks like a skinnier, red… _us_. But with more tentacles."

"He goes by the name Carnage and he was once your cell-mate." Octavius stated.

"Cassidy?" Brock asked and Otto nodded. "But… how? We don't understand?"

"According to the messages I have intercepted, the leading theory is that Cassidy gained a young symbiote, one created by yours." Mysterio said as he finished his work on the hologram.

"…yes, we remember budding…" Brock admitted after a long moment. "We did not care about our offspring."

"Maybe you should have." Otto replied. "Mysterio, if you would?"

Mysterio nodded and made a dramatic hand-motion that triggered the hologram into motion. Brock watched curiously as Spider-Man somersaulted over Carnage, then fired several web-bombs at him.

"Hold it!" Brock snapped. "Mysterio, is Parker talking? His jaw isn't moving."

Mysterio froze the hologram, then twitched slightly. "My analysis says that he remained silent throughout the entire confrontation. Why?"

"We wondered if anything could cause him to stop quipping." Brock said with a frown. "Continue."

The hologram resumed its motion and Otto frowned as Parker grabbed a steel rod and struck several girders with it before hurling it into the concrete in front of Carnage.

"Interesting. Notice how Carnage reacted… Spider-Man is using some form of sonic attack."

"We are weak to loud noises." Brock confirmed. "Our bud would have the same weakness."

In the hologram, Parker had used another dozen metal poles to strike Carnage while also striking the girders in order to create loud noises.

"I may have to create a device to counter that weakness of yours." Otto mused and Brock nodded.

"We would appreciate it."

In the hologram, Carnage screamed silently as a thrown pole speared through his arm and into the concrete, then Peter hit the pole, causing the symbiote to ripple in agony, the same pain that Cassidy was obviously feeling.

"What the hell did Cassidy _do_ to make him act like that?" Vulture gasped.

"Whatever it was, I move that it should be something that we _never_ do." Otto stated.

"Seconded." Sandman said from where he was observing the holographic fight. "_That_ is a no-holds-barred beat-down if I ever saw one."

In the hologram, Carnage had managed to pull his arm off the impaling pole and was trying to escape, only to be sent into another paroxysm of pain by Peter striking at the rods around him, then at him, breaking his leg.

"Pause." Brock commanded and the hologram froze as Peter was mid-swing. "We were… unaware that he could fight like that."

"If he had done so on our first mission, we would have failed." Otto stated and most of the others nodded. "May I suggest that if he goes more than twenty seconds without quipping, we disengage and escape."

"_Try_ to escape." Vulture corrected. "I'll spread the word to all our contacts as well, they _need_ to know this."

"Does the Kingpin know?" Rhino rumbled, earning several surprised looks. "What?"

"That was a very… insightful question." Otto admitted. "Mysterio, will you be able to help me come up with a report for Mr. Fisk?"

"I shall." Mysterio replied.

"We think that we may need that device you can make." Brock admitted. "Preferably before we encounter Parker again."

A rumble of agreement was his answer.

.

"The _hell_?" Tony Stark gasped as Jarvis played the assembled recording for him. "Damn, and I thought that _Hulk_ could smash things!"

"Something made him angry." Thor mused. "I would not like to face him in combat while he doth channel the cold beserker."

"I'm going to find it hard to exchange quips with him after seeing _that_." Hawkeye noted. "I thought he was the nice guy."

"He is." Black Widow said, stepping into the hologram for a better look. "Only those who are nice can become this angry."

.

"Peter?"

"MJ!" Peter half-shouted as he leapt to his feet. "How are you?"

"Not bad." Mary-Jane Watson said with a slight smile as she stepped into the room. "That med-pod does good work. What happened to…?"

"He won't hurt you again." Peter said, his face turning from relief to something far more serious than MJ had ever seen before. "I saw to that."

"Hey, the sleeping beauty awakes." A new voice laughed from the doorway and MJ turned in time to see She-Hulk duck through it. "Welcome back. We were worried for a while, but you made it."

"What happened?" Mary-Jane asked.

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_Author's afternote:- This is essentially a character piece, showing what would happen if Peter ever went all-out, not holding back in the slightest._

_Check out the TVTropes entry on Tranquil Fury._


	12. Guest Omake - Reap The Whirlwind

**An Omake submitted by mavericiceman.**

* * *

><p><em>-Norfolk, Washington D.C.-<em>

"Boss, we've got chatter, it's about the new group, the Friends of Humanity." A young brown-haired man said looking up from his computer," seems they're setting up shop somewhere in the Rockies, decommissioned SHIELD site."

"Ohh, old Nicky's gonna be pissed, heads are gonna roll, literally, looks like he still has an Octopus problem, now there's an organization that knows to stick to evil organization naming standards, I mean, F.O.H? Seriously? What happened to the classics like .C.T.R.E?" a sharply dressed man piped up from across the bull pen.

Thwack!

"Shut it, DiNozzo. McGee forward that to Agent Hill, she's in charge of counter-operations regarding them. They'll send out a team, if I'm reading this thing right, Generation X and the Brotherhood will want point on this." The duo's silver-haired superior dropped the file he'd just used as a reprimand onto his desk, before dropping into his seat and closing his eyes.

'I know I'd want it. Good Hunting boys and girls, Semper Fi!' he thought privately, travelling back to the South American jungle.

"Hey, you think Vance is related to Fury?" that question pulled him back, and earned its poser another resounding whack.

_-Somewhere in the Rockies-_

Jack Jenkins looked around the hidden base, Graydon Creed might be dead but his ideals lived on, and with their new backers the Friends would ensure Humanity Prevailed. The leader of the region's F.O.H's pleasant daydreams of the future were interrupted when the ground shook under his feet and the 3 feet thick blast doors at the entrance blew back into the entrance bay.

"Honey, I'm home!" the teen with a glowing circle on his chest lowered his gauntleted fists from their double-f*** position.

"Seriously Summers, you've been spending too much time around Parker. I almost prefer your brother's no-nonsense approach." The lanky teen beside him stepped forward stomping on the ground tossing the 'patriots' into the air. "Yo, Toad! Batting Practice!"

"Thanks!" another young man darted from behind them, crouching before leaping into the air and twirling a length of adamantium, which suddenly more than doubled in length, colliding with the sternums of three Friends and sending them flying." Wanda! There's enough for the two of us!"

"Did Wanda just giggle?" Bobby Drake asked as he watched the afore-mentioned girl run ahead to join her team-mate, while icing up the floor so that those lucky enough to stay on their feet suddenly lost all traction.

Jubilee just shrugged and popped her bubble as she further disoriented those of the opposition who still had their wits about them.

"Where do you think you guys are going?" the normally even tempered Fred Dukes asked as he scooped up those who'd managed to slip past all the commotion up-front. "you know if there's one thing I hate more than bullies, it's bullies who sucker punch their targets, and that's what you guys did attacking Bayville. Well guess what?" He growled. "Sucker punch or not, you started the fight, and if there's one thing the Brotherhood is good at its finishing fights!" he proceeded to knock his captives out by slamming them into the ground, each with their personal craters.

"This is Alpha team. The front yard's clean. How's it going out back?" Havok said into his communicator. Just as he finished twin rays of red lanced out from the tunnel at the other end of the entrance chamber.

"Good!" The Scottish burr of Wolfsbane filled his ear, "Chris just finished taking out the last of the exo-skeletons. Word of advice, don't p*** him off. One of the idiots insulted Laura and next thing he knows he's got a hot foot."

Havok suppressed a chuckle as behind him Iceman audibly gulped.

_-SHIELD Helicarrier-_

Fury nodded as Hill finished her After Action Report, they'd busted up a main FOH hub and captured enough of the local high command to cripple activity in the region, and they might be able to develop further intel on the Friends. However the use of a decommissioned SHIELD site was troubling, He'd need to use a finer-toothed comb and better microscope from now on as he overhauled SHIELD. He sighed, there were days…

"So I see the Rockies are a trouble spot in any dimension." A voice said out of the mirror he'd been facing before Hill came along with her report.

"Can it, O'Niell." He growled , "Your dimension's already causing me enough headaches, what with my Thor wanting to meet yours…."

* * *

><p>.<p>

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_This Omake was provided by mavericiceman (thanks!)  
>Although it is non-canon, I will probably be using a few of the concepts from it when I get round to compiling my concept notes for IS4 and begin writing the story.<em>


	13. Worm Saga

_Wildbow owns Worm and I have no intention of trying to wrest it from him.  
><em>_Marvel & DC own the other characters.  
><em>_Any OC's are mine… sorta.  
>Contains planned IS4 Spoilers.<em>

_The first part is taken from chapter _Extermination 8.5

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**The Worm Saga**

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_I gathered my bugs to me, sent some to him, to better track his movements. As he climbed up, I gathered the swarms into decoys that looked human-ish, sent them all moving in different directions, gathered more around myself to match them in appearance._

_With the effects of my slash of the Halberd combined with the damage Armsmaster had already done, Leviathan didn't have the mobility with his tail he otherwise would. When he attacked my decoys, he did it with slashes of his claw and pouncing leaps that sent out afterimages to crash into them. A swipe of the claw's echo to disperse one swarm to his left, a lunge to destroy one in front of him. Another afterimage of a claw swipe sent out to strike at me._

_Water crashed into me, hard as concrete, fast as a speeding car. I felt more pain than I'd ever experienced, more than when Bakuda had used that grenade on me, the one that set my nerve endings on fire with raw pain. It was brief, somehow more real than what Bakuda had inflicted on me. Struck me like a lightning flash._

_I plunged face first into the water. My good arm on its own wasn't enough to turn me over – the road just a little too far below me. I tried to use my legs to help turn myself over. Zero response._

_I'd either been torn in two and couldn't feel the pain yet or, more likely, I'd been paralyzed from the waist down._

_Oh._

_Not like I really should've expected any different. Neither case was much better than the other, as far as I was concerned._

_My breath had been knocked out of me at the impact, but some primal, instinctual part of me had let me hold my breath. I lay there, face down in two or three feet of water, counting the seconds until I couldn't hold my breath any more, until my body opened my mouth and I heaved in a breath with that same instinctual need for preservation, filled my lungs with water instead._

_The lenses of my mask were actually swim goggles, it was a strange recollection to cross my mind. I'd bought them from a sports supply store, buying the useless chalk dust at the same time. Durable, high end, meant for underwater cave spelunkers, if I remembered the picture on the packaging right. Tinted to help filter out bright lights, to avoid being blinded by any fellow swimmer's headlamps. I'd fitted the lenses from an old pair of glasses inside, sealed them in place with silicon at the edges, so I had 20/20 vision while I had my mask on without having to wear glasses beneath or over it, or contact lenses, which irritated my eyes. I'd built the armor of my mask around the edges of the goggles so the actual nature of the lenses wasn't immediately apparent, and to hold them firmly in place._

_Even so, when I opened my eyes, looked through those lenses for their original purpose, all I could see was mud, grit, silt. Black and dark brown, with only the faintest traces of light. It disappointed me on a profound level, knowing that this might be the last thing I ever saw. Disappointed me more than the idea of dying here, odd as that was._

_Through my power, I sensed Leviathan turn, take a step back toward the shelter, stop. His entire upper body turned so he could peer to his left with his head, turned the opposite way to peer right. Like a dog sniffing._

_He dropped to all fours_, then a massive impact sent him flying backwards. Shocked, I managed to lever myself up to see what had just happened.

Where he had been crouched, a group of figures had appeared. I fought down an incredulous chuckle as I realized that one of them was dressed in a manner very similar to the fictional Earth-Aleph superhero, Superman.

Flanking him were others that my pain-addled mind couldn't recognise. A teenager in a black bodysuit with a dark red vest. A black man clad carrying a shield with three stars and vertical stripes on it. A woman in a kimono. Another clad in what looked like a bodysuit based on the UK flag. A bipedal black cat… no, a man dressed _as_ a cat. And a final man who changed form even as I watched, unleashing a blast of red light from his eyes, a blast that sent Leviathon tumbling.

"Morph, Guardsman, you're with me!" The superman-cosplayer stated. "Lady Briton, try and scan for anyone who needs help. Gatekeeper, evac protocols. Patriot, sorry, but…"

"Yeah, against something _that_ big?" The shield-carrier noted. "I'll aid with the medical stuff."

"Black Panther…"

"I am getting some odd readings from that thing." The man dressed as a cat said. "I need to get closer. I cannot make sense of these readings at the moment."

"Then let's move!" The leader said, hurling himself into the air at the recovering Leviathon. The shifter grew a pair of wings and rose into the air while the teen tapped a control on the bracer he wore on his left arm. A moment later, he growled and hurled himself into the air, following his team-mates.

"Over there!" A voice called and I saw the one called Lady Briton pointing at me.

The world went dark.

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I awoke to find myself in a tube. Before I could start to panic, it cracked open and I sat up, looking around in confusion. Reaching up to adjust my glasses, I froze as my hand touched my face.

I wasn't wearing any glasses!

The door opened and I reflexively tried to cover myself as someone entered. Peeping over the edge of the tube in which I had awakened, I found myself looking at the kimono-wearing lady.

"Good morning." She smiled. "You were really banged up. We managed to get you into a med-pod before you could flatline, but it was fairly close. I brought some clothes for you."

I took the proffered bundle and donned the panties and bra that were on the top. Wrapping the kimono around myself and tying the sash, I paused as the sides of the tube folded down, turning the pod into what seemed to be a large table. Swinging my legs off it, I carefully stood up.

"What happened?" I asked and the lady motioned for me to follow her.

"You managed to buy enough time for us to get there." She smiled. "My name is Sedara Bakut, although I tend to go by Gatekeeper. I'm a member of the Protectors."

"Oh." I managed. "Ummm, the one who is dressed as Superman…?"

"_Is_ Superman." She chuckled. "We're from another world. The metahuman called Labrynth opened a portal and we stabilized it from our end before coming through. A good thing that we did, that psionic construct did a _lot_ of damage before we could drive it off…" She finished with a sigh.

Psionic construct?

"We've established a base just outside Brockton Bay using one of the new Embassies." Sedara continued as if I understood what she was talking about. "We're looking to hire local talent to form teams to help this world get back on it's feet. Clark believes in offering everyone _one_ second chance… are you interested, Skitter?"

I blinked. "I… don't know…"

"No rush." Sedara shrugged. "We're approaching the Undersiders as well but in the meantime, Clark was hoping to talk to you."

I paused. "Um, can I have a mask? I know it's a bit late, but secret identity and all that?"

"Oh, of course." Sedara said in surprise. "Sorry, where I come from, many of us don't need to worry too much about keeping our identities secret. Not since the carnage incident, anyway."

The _what_ incident?

.

"Ho. Lee. Shit." Grue managed once the presentation had finished. "I… I mean, I knew about other worlds, who doesn't? But… really?"

"Really." Clark nodded, helping himself to one of the divine cookies that he had placed on the center of the table before beginning. "With the infusion of K-Tech which is going to occur, plus the Gate to the Moonbase in my reality, Brockton Bay is going to become a boom town and a magnet for criminals. My son and his… girlfriend need experience, so with your permission, they'll join you as one of the official hero teams here."

"Do it." Lisa said from where she was blissfully nibbling at a cookie. "Of course, we need help to take down our former boss, he has a _weird_ probablility power. Changes the odds of things."

"Intersting." Clark mused. "Another odd power, like the one that seems to split and re-combine timelines."

Lisa froze as her mind worked, then she slapped her head.

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" She ranted. "_That's_ his power! He makes temporary timelines and learns from them! No wonder the coin toss trick was slightly off!"

"Tattletale's a Thinker who deduces things." Regent drawled, then he leaned forwards. "Why couldn't I affect you earlier?"

"I'm not human." Clark smiled and Alec looked at Lisa, who nodded as she took anotherr bite from her cookie.

"S'trth."

"So… how do we take Coil down?" Grue asked and Clark smiled.

"I called in reinforcements." He said as the door opened and a bunch of new heroes entered, led by a woman with a large squirrel-like tail. "Meet the West Coast Guardians, led by Squirrel Girl…"


	14. A Holiday Treat

_I don't own anything that DC and Marvel own. I'm just playing in their world…  
>This short story introduces a character that'll be important to a plot-point in IS4 when I write it...<em>

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**A Holiday Treat**

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Franklin Theophilous sighed as he looked around at the decorated ward that he was a resident of. His parents had joined the Church of Humanity a year prior and had decided not to allow him to have his illness treated by the new Kryptonian-produced Med-Pods, since "those things are abominations in the sight of the Lord". As a result, he was one of only five children in the ward, the other four suffering from medical conditions that even the med-pods couldn't heal, although the use of med-pods meant that the doctors now had far more time to come up with cures for the rarer diseases and other medical issues.

Hence why he was still ill and in hospital on Christmas Day.

A slight noise caught his attention and he looked round to see Miss Whitedawn scurrying to the large window at the end of the ward. Opening it, she stepped back and Franklin's heart almost missed a beat as a familiar figure entered, a large sack in his hand.

"Superman!"

"Hello, everyone." Clark Kent smiled as he moved aside to let a second figure enter the same way. The new blue-skinned arrival looked round and smiled at the staring children even as he folded his metallic wings.

"Archangel and I were on patrol when we met Santa, who was a bit behind in his deliveries." Clark explained as Miss Whitedawn pulled out a wheeled table for Clark to place the sack on and Franklin stared at the gift-wrapped box that was sticking out the top. "Anyway, since he was trying so hard to catch up, we asked him if we could do one of his deliveries for him."

"He agreed, so here we are with his presents for you." Archangel finished. "Now, shall we begin? Do we have a… thanks, Clark… a Serena Martin here?"

The girl almost opposite Franklin managed to raise her hand slightly and Archangel carried the present across to her.

"Do you want any help opening it?" He asked quietly as Clark pulled out the next present.

"Franklin Theophilous?"

"Here!" Franklin waved and Clark floated over, causing two of the others to _ooh_ in appreciation.

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"_And in the mid-day news, Santa's Superhero Helpers!"_ The anchorwoman said with a wide smile. _"This morning, superheroes from virtually every superhero team on the planet paid _flying_ visits to childrens wards around the world, bringing presents to the children still awaiting treatment for their conditions. These children now have pictures of themselves with superheroes in addition to the presents that they received…"_/

The screen blanked as Franklin's mother jabbed at the remote to switch it off while his father glared at the gift Franklin had received, a collapsible hover-chair to help him move around.

"How could they give you something so… _non-human_!" His mother whined and Franklin closed his eyes in an attempt to not shout at her. "First they try to stick you in that alien device that'll probably brainwash you, then they give you _that thing_… I forbid you to use it!"

Franklin made a mental note that as soon as he turned sixteen (assuming he could live that long), he would apply for emancipation and the use of a med-pod, just so that his bigoted parents wouldn't want to have anything to do with him.

What sort of parents placed their philosophies above the life of their child?


	15. Liberty

_I don't own any of the characters in this chapter._

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Liberty

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Clark Kent stared through the portal at the person staring back at him. The similarities between them were quite obvious. Both were solidly-built men clad in a caped jumpsuit, neither was wearing a mask and both had a large icon on their chests. Red featured in both of their outfits, his cape and the unknown man's bodysuit…

…and both were standing in mid-air.

"Hello." Clark said, staring at his apparent counterpart and the scene behind him, where a black-skinned purple-clad man was finishing tying up a man wearing a tech-enhanced green-and-purple jumpsuit. "Ummmm, I assume that's a villain?"

"Yes, his name's Cyber Lord." The other flying man said, glancing back to where his fellow hero was giving him a thumbs-up to signify that the criminal was restrained. "He was working with Evil Brain on a way to breach the dimensional barrier and recruit his alternates to help him… may I ask who you are?"

"Superman, independent hero with affiliations to most of the super-teams of my reality, but their names would probably mean very little to you." Clark supplied. "That's Forge over there, working on stabilizing the Gate so that it doesn't implode and cause considerable damage with the resulting energy release. And you are?"

"Crusader of the Liberty League, and behind me is Darkblade." The man responded. "You seem to be taking this very calmly… and you seem rather well-prepared…"

"We've been working on a way to re-direct dimensional transfer portals to a specially prepared base where we can make contact with whoever's on the other side, then either formalize inter-reality relations or simply drain the Portal's potential and collapse it." Clark shrugged. "I think you're the… hmmm. Black Ink… Justice League, _two_ of those… Planetary… twelfth reality to contact us? Forge?"

"Sounds about right." Forge called back as he shifted his arm into its cyber-form in order to interface with the console in front of him.

"Huh." Crusader managed. "And I thought _we_ had issues with alternate dimensions."

"May I come through?" Clark asked and Crusader floated backwards to give him space. "Thanks. Just out of interest, do you have a Superman in your reality? Real or fictional?"

"No, but it's an interesting name." Darkblade mused, then his gaze sharpened. "Your friend just placed a force-field around your side of the Portal."

"Basic security protocol." Clark explained as he touched down, glancing behind him. "The people joining him are one of the super-teams I mentioned, the X-Men. They'll secure the Portal from their side if you can find someone to secure it on this side too."

"I think I can have someone help." Crusader smiled as he tapped the small earbug he was wearing. "Major Might? I was wondering if you could help us… a situation has come up and… great! Thanks."

Clark raised an inquisitive eyebrow and Crusader shrugged.

"I've sort-of taken him on as an apprentice… kind of. A bit like Dagger… sort of."

At Clark's quizzical look, Crusader hurried to explain. "Um, Dagger is Darkblade's sidekick and will eventually become Darkblade in turn…"

"Ah, a legacy position." Clark nodded. "We sort-of have those. After Angel died, The Falcon took on the name Angel II in order to keep his legacy intact… then Angel returned from the dead…"

"We have that happen to us too." Crusader rolled his eyes. "I think I've died… twice?"

"Three times." Darkblade said as he joined them. "Your wife went back in time to save you once."

"I was counting _that_ time… wasn't I?"

"Crusader!" A new voice called and another man swooped in. "Sorry it took so long, I had to catch a jet and… whoah, another recruit?"

"Major, if you and Dagger could guard Cyber Lord and the Portal for a while, it would be quite useful."

"Sure thing!" Major Might grinned. "Hey, Dagger!"

"Major."

Clark blinked in shock at the sight of a dark-haired masked man in a black bodysuit and red cape standing close to the portal. "Where did _he_ come from?"

"He's getting good at that." Darkblade said proudly. "Come on, Cyber Lord shielded this building, we'll need to get outside to use the teleporter."

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"And that's the result." Clark said, looking at the holographic representations of the leaders of the higher-ranked super-teams. "The Liberty League has taken possession of Dome 22 and linked it to their satellite base. Most of their technology seems similar to that which we've encountered, although their teleporter is worthy of a closer look. As for their metahuman level, it's fairly low by Alpha standards, but most of them are quite powerful."

"Another reality." Zod stated thoughtfully. "I must say, godson, life in the Sol System is full of the unexpected."

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_Authors Afternote – I probably won't be using Crusader et al in any future mainline stories, but if you haven't read about the adventures of Mark (aka Crusador) and Abby in the webcomic _Love And Capes _(_ loveandcapes dot com)_, then I would advise you to look it up and start reading._

_Go on!_


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